Sandown best bet: Bretney primed to hit ground running after mid-winter break
Orbys Legend provides Sandown cheer
Our partners at Tipstrr have run their numbers over Thursday's card at Sandown to provide us with their most widely-tipped selection that could defy the odds in the penultimate race of the afternoon.
16:15 Sandown: Spectra Group Alanbrooke Handicap Chase (3 miles 37 yards)
The betting appears to suggest that this should evolve into something of a three horse race, with Animal just about edging the favourite mantle ahead of fellow market leaders Copperhead and Hudson De Grugy.
It’s easy to see why Animal has been well supported after making the frame in each of his four outings this term, including a win over this course and distance in December, and rounded off by a runner-up spot in the Surrey National at Lingfield 25 days ago.
The bookies might well have things right, but none of those three hold much appeal, especially with other contenders more than capable of producing a challenge at much more attractive prices.
Trincomalee looks interesting on his second outing after a two-year lay-off, but he still might not quite be ready to make an impact, while the proven form of top-weighted French raider Placenet now has a question-mark on his return from wind surgery following a troubled pulled-up effort at Cheltenham’s November meeting.
Planet Sport Bet Daily Special: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Tricomalee finishes in the first 3 places, get a £5 Free Bet
All of which has led a clutch of Tipstrr’s each-way specialists to believe that the Henry Daly-trained Bretney is flying underneath the radar and could well squeeze his way into the mix at a decent price.
Two wins at Hereford and Bangor last season were not a bad return from his six completed outings, and he has looked in decent shape this term, making the frame in each of his three outings before Christmas, all of them in testing underfoot conditions.
The nine-year-old returns to action fresh from a two-month mid-winter break and lines up off an unchanged mark that gives him a nine-pound advantage over the rest of the field, and close to 1-2 stone over some of the market principals.
That handicap differential exists for a reason, of course, but he looks to have every chance of outrunning his odds under the notable presence of Sam Twiston-Davies, who landed a 9/2 shot on his only Valentine’s Day ride, and whose 89 wins (plus 154 places) have pushed him 42 betting units ahead of the bookies so far this season.
Suggested best bet: Bretney each-way in the 16:15 at Sandown
- Tip advised by Professor Plum’s Plums on Tipstrr
READ MORE: Sandown racing tips: Best bets for Thursday February 15
