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Our tipster bids to follow up two NYD winners at Cheltenham
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Recent flat spin should put Cruden spot on
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Dynamic Dascombe hurdler can win with little Fuss
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Wincanton, 14.40 - Back Cruden @ 4/15.00
Picking up horses from James Ewart's now defunct training enterprise has been a fairly fruitful exercise this season - Thistle Ask being the primary exhibit, while the likes of Escapeandevade and Lucky Manifest have also hit their straps for new connections this term.
Cruden is another prospect from that profitable pipeline and the lightly-raced son of Time Test looks to have an excellent chance of giving rookie trainer Dan Horsford a second National Hunt winner in this Class 4 handicap hurdle.
The five-year-old warmed up for this test with a highly encouraging stable debut on the level at Wolverhampton where he outran his odds to finish second behind a well-backed battle hardened rival in Mersea Island.
That outing should have put him spot on for a race of this nature and decent ground on a flat track look to be ideal conditions judged on his Cork win for Jessie Harrington in a past life.
Paddock watchers tell me Cruden is a sizeable model so current connections may well benefit from a patient approach which has seen him make just 11 previous career starts under both codes.
Back Cruden to Win 14:40 Wincanton
Sandown, 15.35 - Back Hot Fuss @ 4/15.00
Even for a horse that ran a blinder to finish placed in a Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival, Hot Fuss clocked a clear career best over hurdles at Ascot before Christmas.
Splitting the likes of Wilful and Alexei in a valuable festive handicap was a fine performance from the son of Calyx, especially with Mondo Man, a horse many felt was a handicap good thing back in fourth.
A return to Sandown should be no issue for Hot Fuss either, given he recorded his sole hurdling victory at today's venue in December 2024 and the handicapper could easily have been more punitive after Ascot, raising the selection 2lbs for that display looks a shade lenient.
I guess that theory will be put to the test here, but a repeat of his latest performance should be enough to see the five-year-old involved at the business end, and his Ascot form looks stronger than the race played out by Dance And Glance and All In You at the same meeting so he gains the nod.
Back Hot Fuss to Win the 15:35 Sandown