6th December

1:25 SANDOWN- SIGN UP BONUS AT BETINTERNET.COM HANDICAP HURDLE (Distance 2m6f)

The Scoop6 starts off with a fiendishly looking handicap hurdle to be run over 2 mile 6 furlongs on soft ground. I think you need a horse with plenty of stamina and proven form on the soft ground. Races like these are normally won by a horse who is improving and have potential to go on to bigger things. Therefore I am ruling out all horses over the age of 6, as there are plenty of young fresh horses who are open to more improvement. Talenti is the selection, the horse is lightly raced and whilst there is some stamina doubts the horse ran nicely over 2 1/2 miles last season. The most important point is that the horse has run its best races on soft or slower ground and looks to be on a fair mark. Earth Crystal looks a very interesting runner who won on hurdles debut at Ascot last season on soft ground and Henderson's yard are in great form. The other main danger could be King Jack, another horse who has very good form on ground that is soft or slower.

Selection = Talenti
Danger 1 = Earth Crystal
Danger 2 = King Jack


2:00 Sandown - BETINTERNET.COM HENRY VIII NOVICES' CHASE GRADE 2 (2 miles)

This is an odd race for the Scoop6 as it looks really uncompetitive at first glances with the impressive Free World lining up against only 4 rivals. The race is between three horses for me, Free World is the odds on favourite whilst Araldur and Cheating Chance are open to more improvement. Free World has to be the selection as the Nicholls yard have said that he is the equal to Tatenen at home, and that horse has looked untouchable in his Novice Chases. Free World has not raced on ground this soft in the UK but he should have no problems handling the ground and if jumping round he will be in with a shout at the finish. Araldur has been making haste with his chasing mark, and then beat Chapoturgeon very nicely in a novice chase last time, which could show that he is improving. Further improvement will be necessary to beat Free World here. Cheating Chance has a similar profile to Araldur and having won a handicap he went and took a novice chase, this looks much tougher.

Selection - Free World
Danger 1 - Araldur
Danger 2 - Cheating Chance


2:50 Wetherby - BLUE SQUARE HANDICAP CHASE (2 miles)

This is a very trappy handicap chase around Wetherby, in which many hold claims, the main ones being Polar Gunner, Wee Forbees and Pen Gwen. The selection is Wee Forbees whose third to Snoopy Loopy is working out rather well, and he loves ground which is soft. He is also lightly raced and has stamina if this turns into a slog. Polar Gunner is the veteran of the field at the age of 11, he loves it when the ground is testing and should run very well off his current mark. Pen Gwen is not a soft ground specialist but would hold claims if producing his best form and the likes of Euro American and Miss Pross cannot be ignored either.

Selection - Wee Forbees
Danger 1 - Polar Gunner
Danger 2 - Pen Gwen

3:05 Sandown - BEST ODDS GUARANTEED AT BETINTERNET.COM HANDICAP HURDLE (2 miles)

This is another difficult race to unravel with many last time out winners in the field. The race revolves around two points, the first is how good will Blue Shark be after his long lay off, if he is as good as he was then he will take a good deal of beating here. The second is how good are Tchico Polos and Sunnyhillboy, who are from Nicholls and O'Neill respectively. I am siding with Hernando Royal who keeps running well in defeat, he loves the soft ground and now with a swing in the weights with Sunnyhillboy and his jockeys claim he will be carrying a featherweight in this handicap. Tchico Polos won his novice hurdle very well at Wincanton when beating the highly touted Ravello Bay, he is open to plenty of improvement and could run well. He is on handicap debut so we do not know how good he is in comparison to his mark. Sunnyhillboy won a cracker last time out at Cheltenham when defying a 10lb hike in the handicap. He will have to continue that sharp progression to score once again and has to be a main danger to the selection.

Selection - Hernando Royal
Danger 1 - Sunnyhillboy
Danger 2 - Tchico Polos



3:20 Wetherby - BLUE SQUARE POKER HANDICAP CHASE (3 miles 1 furlong)

Another trappy handicap in the Scoop 6 this time over a longer trip which will increase the need for horses to go on the soft ground and stay well. One such horse is Malko De Beaumont who has won in bottomless ground over these staying trips. He is obviously in good heart and will take a lot of beating in this race. In opposition we have some useful performers with the likes of Morgan Be and Just For Men likely to be prominent in the betting. The former of those two is very good on this sort of ground and is unexposed whilst the latter may struggle to stay this distance but does look to be coming back to his best.

Selection - Malko De Beaumont
Danger 1 - Morgan Be
Danger 2 - Just For Men


3:35 Sandown - BETINTERNET.COM LONDON NATIONAL CHASE (3 miles 5 furlong)

The Scoop 6 finishes with a marathon, and a competitive one at that. The one I like is low in the weights and looks primed to run a big race. L'Aventure is the horse in question and ran an absolute beauty in the Southern National staying on really well as is her way. She gets outpaced in races and takes plenty of cajoling to get into a race but she looks certain to be running on up the hill at the finish, she should be fitter for this and could prove a bit of a shock winner. Hello Bud has an obvious chance but is rising up the handicap for the last two wins. He will be short in the market and this could be tougher for the horse. The main dangers could well be Leading Authority and Sporting Rebel, the former ran nicely in a good Wincanton listed handicap last time whilst the latter if proving his stamina should go well on seasonal reappearance.

Selection - L'Aventure
Danger 1 - Leading Authority
Danger 2 - Sporting Rebel


gl all - JB