Barry Geraghty’s William Hill Blog: Bo can reach his Zenith in the Imperial Cup

William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty looks over Saturday’s meeting at Sandown and picks out his best bets.  

Sandown, Saturday  

MELON is the one I like in the Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (1:15pm). He won well at Doncaster on good to soft ground, showing a lot of pace on the day. He then disappointed at Chepstow when the soft ground there didn’t play to his strengths, but the fact they ran him in such a good race suggests they think he is of a reasonable standard. I think the Sandown track will play to his strengths and he should appreciate the better ground with the pace he shows. He has the potential to be the quality horse in this field.

The EBF Final (1:50pm) is always a competitive race and an interesting one with a view to horses for the future. I am big fan of MEETMEBYTHESEA. Ben Pauling has done a really good job bringing him along at a lower level. He beat a good horse in Kemble Brewery at Ludlow before battling on well to win at Doncaster last time out. He finished second in a point-to-point and I think the step up in trip will really suit him and bring about more improvement.  One that has definite each way claims is PESO for Jonjo & AJ O’Neill. He ran a good race behind Chart Topper last time out at Weatherby and will also appreciate the step up in trip.

BO ZENITH caught my eye at Cheltenham’s December Meeting and should run well in the Imperial Cup (2:25pm). He was a little disappointing at Ascot on his next start, where it looked like the bounce factor may have caught him out on his second outing after a long absence. However, if you go back to his effort at Cheltenham in December and discount that most recent run, he’s still a horse to be interested in. Lump Sum is a rival you have respect, but he has a lot of weight to carry so Bo Zenith would be the one for me.

DREAM SHADOW in the Listed mares’ bumper (3:00pm) could turn the tables on Charisma Cat after finishing behind her at Market Rasen, and I think the form of that race could hold the key here. It’s a much sharper track than Sandown, and I think Dream Shadow will benefit from this stiffer finish and that could be to her advantage.

EXCELLO is my pick for the three-mile chase (3:35pm), which looks a tricky race to call. He’s one I keep coming back to as a horse that could still have more to give. He was well beaten at Winsor on soft, well beaten in Exeter on good to soft, however the ground on the chase track at Sandown will be better, particularly because it doesn’t get watered like the hurdle track. That probably won’t help the favorite Dreaming Blue who looks best on heavy ground. The better ground should suit Excello well and he isn’t a horse I want to give up on.