Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: Ed should be a Keeper

It was great to kick off February with a winner for Sammy Thomas at Wincanton, and I’m hoping that the good luck will continue this weekend at Sandown, where I’ve got three nice rides.

Saturday, Sandown

First up is Alfie’s Princess in the 2m4f novices’ handicap hurdle (1.25pm). She won her first two novices well and then went up to Haydock for a mares’ Listed race, in which she was a bit disappointing, finishing over nine lengths behind the winner, but she’s come back in really good form. The handicapper has only put her at 120, which we hope is very workable. She’s very straightforward, has a nice way of going and is a good jumper, so she should be able to run really well and recapture her previous form.

Then there’s Ed Keeper in the 2m7½f Premier Handicap hurdle (3.10pm). We were absolutely gutted about his result the last day at Cheltenham – if he had jumped the last without that mistake, I think he’d have won and it’s frustrating to go up the handicap for a miss. This is a very valuable handicap, though, and he’s in really good form. Sammy [Thomas] has been really happy with him and he’s been schooling well, so – with any luck – this will be a good opportunity to make up for Cheltenham.

Finally, I’ll ride Kestrel Valley in the three-mile handicap chase (3.45pm). She’s incredibly straightforward and has an amazing attitude and way of going. Normally, she’s a sound jumper and she likes to be ridden at the front end of the field. If all goes to plan and we get away quickly, into a good position with a steady rhythm, she should take some catching.

Irish Gold Cup, Leopardstown

This’ll be a very good race. It’ll very much be a match between Galopin Des Champs and Fastorslow, and the former looked incredibly good last time, but Fastorslow has also been fantastic. He’s trained by Martin Brassil, who is a very good trainer, and – while he hasn’t got anything like the numbers of Willie Mullins – he’s been very clever about placing this horse. I can see this being a hell of a race, but which way it’ll go, I couldn’t say!