Sandown Saturday

1:50 bet365 Novices’ Championship Final Handicap Hurdle 1m 7f 216y

Knappers Hill got back on track when winning at Newton Abbot last weekend, and he is much better than he showed when well beaten in the EBF Final won by stablemate Complete Unknown here on his penultimate start.

It would come as no surprise to see him come out on top on this much quicker ground, but marginal preference is for Whizz Kid, who didn’t seem to handle Aintree particularly well on his latest start, but still ran with credit to finish a close fourth of 16 behind Hacker Des Places.

Whizz Kid had a breathing operation after making his hurdles debut in the Tolworth over course and distance behind Constitution Hill, and he has improved with each start since. He still looked in need of further education at Aintree, jumping none to fluently and to his left at times, while he dived at a couple of flights at Catterick prior to that.

He needs to jump better to fulfil his potential, but the key to him is that he will prove a better horse than his current mark when ironing out those issues, and his last run ought to have taught him more than when able to dominate inferiors in novice company.

On that basis, I’d be fairly confident that he can progress again here, and if so, he will prove hard to contain.

2:25 bet365 Oaksey Chase (Grade 2) 2m 6f 164y

As with a few races on this concluding day of the British jumps season, there are questions for most of the contenders to answer, and all three of the highly rated chasers in the field were beaten a long way at Aintree.

All the runners took part in Grade 1 events the Grand National meeting, in fact, and Saint Calvados fared best with a modest fifth in the Melling Chase. He gets weight here, and has the class to win, but little has gone right since he joined Paul Nicholls, and he can both burst blood vessels and race too freely, which makes him hard to back, even down in class.

Mister Fisher is a Jekyll and Hyde character, who tends to ran badly in Grade 1 company, with form figures of 84PUP4P when taking on the best at levels over hurdles and fences; he is much more reliable dropped a notch, and at Grade 2 level his record reads 11121.

He beat subsequent Denman Chase winner Eldorado Allen in the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton the last time he had a go at a Grade 2, and it’s easy to see him put some uninspiring runs behind him now in calmer waters.

3:00 bet365 Celebration Chase (Grade 1) 1m 7f 119y

Nube Negra needs to bounce back from a poor run in the Tingle Creek, and looks held by Greaneteen on that effort, but the balance of his form suggests that he is a better horse than last year’s winner of this race, and while Greaneteen has gained both his Grade 1 wins over track and trip, it’s debatable whether he’s had to run to a much higher level in gaining those successes.

That’s not to belittle Greaneteen’s achievements, but he has a bit to prove after flopping in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown, and the value seems to lie with Dan Skelton’s runner, who seems to have been laid out with this winnable Grade 1 in mind.

3:32 bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 3m 4f 166y

It goes without saying that the runners representing Christian Williams deserve maximum respect, and the way Win My Wings bolted up in the Scottish Grand National makes her hard to look past, but while Rob James’s claim was a huge help to her there, and will be again, she is now a stone higher in the handicap, and that does demand a new high.

A bigger concern for me is that she was undoubtedly suited by the strong pace in the Scottish Grand National, whereas there is much less pace in this smaller field, and that consideration sways me towards the horse who might get an uncontested lead.

Step Back is not quite the horse who win this race as a novice in 2018, but he showed he was no back number with a win in veterans’ company here last season, and can have a run in the Cross Country at Cheltenham written off.

He needs to go right-handed these days (jumped violently right when tried in the Grand National) and his form figures over jumps going this way round read: 131351173. Those include two course wins and a fine third off 145 in this race in 2019.

Step Back can’t always dominate these days, and his one real disappointment of late came when not asked to lead at Ascot in December. He’s been dropped 13lb since that run, however, and with only the outclassed Via Dolorosa likely to go forward with him here, it’s very likely that he can steal a march under trainer’s daughter Lily Bradstock.

With her 7lb claim, Step Back carries just 9st 9lb, and that could prove significant if he can get into an early rhythm.

4:07 bet365 Select Hurdle (Grade 2) 2m 5f 110y

Scaramanga is the one of this quartet who wants rattling-fast ground according to the figures, and with Harry Cobden riding, he appears the better fancied of the Paul Nicholls pair.

I’m not at all convinced by that, however, as I think these conditions are exactly what McFabulous wants, and he can get back to winning ways having not had things fall right for him this season.

It was on the quick side of good when McFabulous won the Persian War at Chepstow as a novice, and he’s either been tackling ground too soft, trips too far, or company too hot having made a belated start to the season.

I think he can win this, and would expect him to be kept on the go and switched to fences subsequently, taking advantage of the favourable conditions before having a break when the going turns soft again.

He has what it takes to be a high-class chaser on a sound surface, and is likely to have been switched earlier but for meeting with a setback in the autumn.

Recommended

Whizz Kid 1:50 Sandown – 1pt win @ 6/1 (general)

Step Back 3:32 Sandown – 1pt e/w @ 28/1 (BetVictor, Unibet – 4 places)

McFabulous 4:07 Sandown – 2pts win @ 5/2 (Hills)