IF you had been told a few weeks ago that Gerri Colombe would run somewhere on Dublin Racing Festival weekend, you probably would have got fair odds that it would be in the Scilly Isles Chase at Sandown.

It’s a very interesting move by Gordon Elliott and connections, it will be interesting to see how the Robcour gelding fares over two and a half miles on good to soft ground at Sandown.

He is obviously a hugely exciting young chaser and, while he is probably not a betting proposition today at the price, there is no telling how good he could be.

Remastered is also exciting, if not quite that young. David Pipe’s horse is probably better known as a chaser than a hurdler, he finished second in the Coral Gold Cup in November and he won a Class 2 handicap chase at Kempton over Christmas.

But he isn’t a bad hurdler either, as he proved when he easily landed a Pertemps Qualifier at Aintree in November, a stepping stone to the Coral Gold Cup.

The hurdles mark of 142 off which he will race in the Virgin Bet Heroes Handicap Hurdle at Sandown today is 10lb lower than his chase mark so, obviously, if he can put up a performance over hurdles today that gets close to his chase mark, he will run a big race. But the market is onto him, and today’s hurdles mark is still 10lb higher than the mark off which he won at Aintree on his last run over hurdles.

Bigger price

Green Book is more interesting at a bigger price. Venetia Williams’ horse is obviously going to have to do better today than he did at Chepstow last time, when he finished sixth, 40 lengths behind Flight Deck, even given that he is 8lb better off with Jonjo O’Neill’s horse today, but there are reasons for believing that he could do significantly better.

For starters, that was his seasonal debut, his first run since Aintree in April. Also, it was his first run since a wind operation, and it was on soft ground. And actually, he ran well for a long way.

He travelled well along the inside to the end of the back straight final time, before he started to weaken.

He should do better with that run under his belt, and he should appreciate the return to better ground today, and the return to Sandown. On his only run at Sandown to date, he won this race last year.

He only got home by a half a length in the end, but he was in front from a fair way out, from the top of the home straight, and he kept on well over the final two flights.

He raced off a handicap rating of 130 that day, and he is back down to a mark of 134 now.

That gives him a real chance. On his second run back after a wind operation, he could out-run his odds by a fair way.

Handicap Chase

Equus Dancer could also out-run his odds in the Virgin Bet Masters Handicap Chase 35 minutes later.

Peter Bowen’s horse is nine now, but he was off the track for almost the entire of last season, he has only raced seven times over fences. There could still be more to come.

A game winner of a novices’ handicap chase at Market Rasen in April 2021, it looked like he was gearing up for a tilt at the Summer Plate that summer, back over the same course and distance, and he easily landed two weak races over hurdles in the meantime. But he never made it to the Summer Plate.

Indeed, he didn’t run again after he won a two-runner novices’ hurdle at Ffos Las in June 2021 until he made his debut this season in a handicap chase at Hereford just before Christmas.

He won that handicap chase too. He belied his weakness in the market in just getting the better of Nocte Volatus – who was quietly fancied for the valuable two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase at Cheltenham last Saturday that Il Ridoto won – with the pair of them clear of their rivals.

The handicapper raised Equus Dancer by 6lb for that win, but that still just takes him up to a mark of 134, which is only 3lb higher than his peak.

It was soft ground too at Hereford. He should appreciate the return to better ground today. He could progress from that, a win on his first run for 552 days, and weak in the market beforehand, and it is a positive that the cheekpieces that he wore for the first time at Hereford are retained.

Eva’s Oskar stayed on well to win a three-and-a-quarter-mile chase at Cheltenham’s December meeting, and a 3lb hike was not overly harsh, but he is short enough, and three miles on good to soft ground around Sandown may be on the sharp side for him.

Bangers And Cash is progressive and Rapper put up a career-best performance last time in his first-time cheekpieces, which are retained, and Laskalin ran well for a long way last time in the Mandarin Chase at Newbury, and gets to race off the same mark of 133 today.

It is a hugely competitive race but, at the prices, Equus Dancer could represent the value.

Recommended:

Green Book, 2.55 Sandown, 8/1 (generally), 1 point win

Equus Dancer, 3.30 Sandown, 14/1 (generally), 1 point win