Transmission to end season with a Boom at Sandown
THIS season’s titanic trainers’ title battle between Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins rolls on into the final week of the Jumps season with everything set to boil down to Saturday’s star-studded card at Sandown.
Predictably Mullins is throwing everything at trying to become UK Champion Trainer for the second year in a row, but still trails his rival by over £50,000.
That’s unlikely to worry the Irish maestro though, with over £600,000 up for grabs at Sandown and him entering a colossal 71 horses in an attempt to storm to the summit of the trainers’ table.
At this stage Mullins has 15 horses entered in the feature £175,000 bet365 Gold Cup (3.35pm) and picking which of his will line up is like playing Russian roulette.
High Class Hero currently heads the market, with the classy Dancing City and recent Scottish National winner Captain Cody next in the betting.
The Closutton handler also has 168-rated Grand National third Grangeclare West entered, and if he was to line up, he would force many of the lower rated horses to run from out of the weights.
However, in a race that resembles an ante-post minefield, it may be best to ignore the Mullins battalions completely and side with the Neil Mulholland-trained TRANSMISSION.
Unlike many in here he looks to have been targeted at this race since finishing fifth behind Haiti Couleurs in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham.
He was given too much to do on that occasion when held up out the back of the field, so it’s worth marking up that effort.
The winner did the form no harm either when winning the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.
Transmission looks competitively weighted off a mark of 132, will stay this trip and likes good ground.
While many of his rivals have been to Aintree and Ayr since Cheltenham, he arrives here comparatively fresh and I expect him to be primed to run a big race.
A price of 16/1 in a place is more than fair and I wouldn’t put anyone off taking that each-way.
Call me mad, but I just can’t see why GOSHEN is priced at 66/1.
This is a horse that has all the ability in the world but getting it all out of him is often a different story.
The Moores’ enigmatic nine-year-old has only had five starts over fences and has run big races in competitive handicaps twice this season.
He finished fifth in Ascot’s Swinley Chase and last time out was beaten less than a length by Hoe Joly Smoke – 12/1 for this race – over three miles at Sandown.
He got outpaced turning out of the back straight there, but kept on all the way to the line in the style of a horse that would appreciate an extra half mile.
If this extra distance brings out a bit more from him, there’s no way he should be 66/1.
Ante-post betting is all about finding one at a big price that will go off a lot shorter on the day, and I think Goshen could be just that.
Perhaps the Skelton’s best chance of getting a win on the board on Saturday is with BOOMBAWN in the bet365 Oaksey Chase (2.25pm).
I was impressed with the way he travelled last time out at Aintree when looking like he would play a major role on the long run to the last fence in the Grade 1 Manifesto Novies’ Chase.
He got tapped for toe slightly in the dash to the line though, suggesting this step up in trip could be well worth exploring.
We know he relishes good ground, and with this representing a drop in grade I think he could strike a blow for the Skeltons at 20/1.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Boombawn e/w 2.25pm Sandown
Transmission e/w 3.35pm Sandown
Goshen e/w 3.35pm Sandown