Tony Calvin Antepost Tips: 14/1 Sandown selection very much overpriced

• Tony discusses Sandown's card on Saturday

• A 14/1 selection which can't be ignored

• Horses to note across the card ahead of the action

Sandown in focus

Well, we got off the mark for the Flat season with the punted Jimi Hendrix winning at Newbury on Saturday, but not at the price I was hoping for.

However, I have long since committed to settle at Betfair SP for profit and loss purposes, for the sake of fairness - readers come to the column in a wide time window - so you have to take the rough with the smooth on that score, something that backers of Chaldean requesting, and getting, a "Justice refund" will do well to consider.

Bad beats are often the best betting tales to tell, after all. Maybe the cash is preferable though, I guess.

Anyway, I am going to focus on Saturday's Sandown card in this column - if I see anything from Punchestown I will probably just post it on my Twitter account - and I will be doing pieces on the ITV racing from Friday to Sunday, too.

By the way, don't you just love those keenos at ITV. I was all set to go to the end-of-season card in Esher on Saturday and then I clocked the Sunday Series is starting.

Oh, how I am looking forward to waiting for the Musselburgh prices belatedly dropping through Saturday, with six of the seven races on offer over a mile or less, with three over 5f, instead of enjoying a few and some good class racing at Sandown.

Still, it is hardly work, I suppose.

Points to note regarding the Gold Cup

The big weekend betting race is the bet365 Gold Cup at 14:15, and there are two things to point out from the start.

The first is that the Sandown going is currently soft (good to soft in places) after they get 11mm on Monday - they got off lightly as I don't live that far away and it hardly stopped raining all afternoon - and more is due from Thursday onwards.

Working on the basis of the current going description seems fair, then.

The second is that the top weight, last year's winner Hewick, is due to run at Punchestown on Wednesday, so if he takes up that engagement that will be good news for the 18 of the 24 currently out of the handicap (there will be plenty hoping Shark Hanlon doesn't have a late change of heart and decide to travel instead, as the horse is also in the Oaksey Chase on this card).

Kitty's Light is another horse whose participation is probably in some doubt after his Scottish National win last weekend, but he is still the 4/1 favourite with the Sportsbook (though currently 7/1 on the exchange) and I suppose he did take in both races last season, finishing second at Ayr and third here.

And there are no penalties after the publication of the weights in this early-closer, so he is 6lb well-in if he does run. So he is only technically out of the weights at the moment.

I couldn't see a bet in the race at this stage to be truthful, though the stablemates, last year's runner-up Musical Slave and course favourite Deise Aba (form figures of 11225 here), interested me most at 16/1 and 25/1 respectively.

Mind you, the form of that yard is hardly a positive.

Under Control has a right old chance if reappearing quickly after his Cheltenham win last week in the novices' handicap final at 13:05, as he won well there and you suspect a 7lb rise won't prevent him from being very competitive here.

Arqoob looks a great price

However, the owner and trainer also have Iberico Lord in here, so bear that in mind if you are tempted by the 7/2. They may not run both.

The one I am backing and tipping is Arqoob at 14/1 win-only.

I am also a touch wary about the form of the Lucy Wadham yard (the same applies to Ben Pauling who has the dangerous-looking Joe Dadancer in here) - she is winless this month, and a fair few of her horses have been running badly - so I was glad to see her Pretending run so well in chasing home the aforementioned Under Control at Cheltenham last week.

Arqoob is a 93-rated Flat handicapper who has put up some of his better efforts at this track - he has won one from four here, and he has never been beaten more than 4 ½ lengths - so a hurdles mark of 114 is ripe for exploiting if he can get his act together.

And his second at Newbury last time, crucially on soft ground - an assessment backed up by Timeform - suggests he is doing so.

I mention the going that day as he had previously shown a preference for better ground, so that was encouraging as regards this weekend, and the form of that Newbury run was given a boost when the winner, Russian Ruler, won at Kempton under a penalty in a novices' hurdle on Monday night.

For the sake of balance, I should note the third and fourth have been beaten since.

I was going to suggest backing Arqoob each-way, but I think it makes more sense to back him win-only from an ante-post point of view - there are currently three places on offer and we may even get a fourth down the line if the 19-strong field holds up on Thursday morning - although, admittedly, I don't expect him to be anything like 14s if he runs.

I would back him at 12/1 upwards at this stage.

Good luck. I am probably back Thursday morning with a look at Sandown's card on Friday.