Betfair Night at Sandown: Simon Rowlands on the betting ahead of our night at the Esher track

Events / Simon Rowlands / 28 May 2008 / Leave a Comment

We go through the entire card at Sandown featuring the Henry II Stakes, Brigadier Gerard Stakes and more.

Evening racing tends to be the poor relation where prestigious events are concerned, with the Classics and most of the other top contests run as afternoon fixtures. There are exceptions though, none more notable than the one that occurs on Thursday of this week at Sandown, where it is Betfair evening.

The six-race card, for which the declarations have now been made, features a Group 2 (the Betfair Henry II Stakes), a Group 3 (the Betfair Brigadier Gerard Stakes) and two listed races (the Betfair Betting As It Should Be National Stakes and the Betfair Poker Heron Stakes).

Recent rain has ensured that there will be a good equine turn out (65 runners declared in all), and the promise of better weather could see a bumper crowd of the great and the good - as well as a large contingent of Betfair employees - descending on Esher.

Punjabi will be very difficult to beat in the opening Betfair SP Handicap at 6:10, though his odds may be skinny. He has made into a high-class hurdler and took advantage of a run-of-the-mill mark on the Flat recently in good style. His only run on ground softer than good on the level resulted in a heavy defeat, but he has shown he copes with this sort of ground over timber.

There are doubts of one sort or another (especially regarding stamina and ground) about many of his rivals, but a couple who could reward place support at bigger odds are Dakiyah and Aegean Prince, who look sure to run their races. Whatever the outcome, one of the safest bets of the evening would have to be that Betfair SP will be better than fixed-odds returns.

There are some speedballs on show in the National Stakes for two-year-olds at 6:40, and a few of them could be found out by the soft ground and stiff finish. If I had to try to pick a winner in an open race it would be Finjaan, but the beauty of betting on Betfair is that there are alternatives. It is interesting to note that the offspring of Fasliyev have a poor strike-rate on ground softer than good (80% of overall strike-rate), and with that in mind I am interested in place lays of Zezao and Fazbee. Three places should be on offer on Betfair even if there are non-runners.

The Henry II Stakes is the highlight of the card at 7:15, and last year's winner Allegretto goes again. She was a big price 12 months ago but will be shorter this time in a stronger renewal and crucially lacks a recent run. Another of the leading candidates, Tranquil Tiger, has no form on ground this soft. They both look like place lays to me in a race which should be run at a strong pace and expose any stamina flaws. Don't be surprised if dyed-in-the-wool stayer Enjoy The Moment runs above himself.

The biggest field of the night - 15 runners - is for the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at 7:45, featuring Lucarno (carrying a big penalty for his win in last year's St Leger) and Happy Boy, who is supposed to be one of the best things to have come out of Brazil since the Samba. My Timeform racecard informs me that Happy Boy has won on heavy going at Cidade Jardim racecourse (note to self: cancel that holiday to Brazil and go somewhere sunny instead) and gives him a good shout.

Nonetheless, I think I'll stick with a win and place bet on the talented if quirky Maraahel, who should be suited by the bigger field and stronger pace at this trip than when second at Chester recently.

Iguazu Falls was beaten by Redolent and Gaspar van Wittel in a three-runner race at Doncaster recently but went best for most of the way and has strong claims of turning the tables in the Heron Stakes at 8:20. It's worth backing the first-named along with the highly promising Khateeb, whose sire, King's Best, has the best record of all leading stallions by offspring on ground softer than good.

Few of the runners in the concluding Betfair Radio Whitsun Cup Handicap at 8:50 look like proper milers, and I went round and round in circles for a while before deciding that Prince of Thebes was a reasonable win and place bet by default. He usually runs his race and is fine under the conditions.

Then again, I may just head for the bar at this stage. Whether I will be ordering champagne (and going round and round in circles in a different sense) or a half of shandy will depend on how things have gone earlier on!