Sandown hosts epic finale to Jumps Season
The final National Hunt fixture at Sandown on Saturday will be a celebration of the sport.
As well as some spectacular racing there will be the chance to see some of the very best horses parade at the Esher track. Champion Hurdle hero Constitution Hill and Aintree winner Shishkin are among those expected to be on show.
Out on the course, the feature race is the bet365 Gold Cup. The traditional end-of-season highlight has attracted a stellar list of entries. Last year’s winner Hewick, popular Frodon and Scottish National hero Kitty’s Light could all line up in the 3m5f marathon contest.
In what is sure to be a superb day’s racing, the top two-milers will battle it out in the Grade 1 bet365 Celebration Chase and there are also two Grade 2 supporting contests.
The season’s champions will also receive their crowns at Sandown. Brian Hughes will pick up the champion jockey’s prize for the third time and Paul Nicholls will be awarded the trainers’ title trophy for 14th time. He will start the new season aiming to equal Martin Pipe’s record 15 titles.
Perth Festival lights up midweek action
The hugely-popular BetVictor Perth Festival dominates the mid-week fixtures. The three-day meeting starts on Wednesday when the Listed BetVictor Fair Maid of Perth Mares’ Chase tops the bill.
The BetVictor Highland National is the feature of the closing day on Friday. The Scottish course is set in the picturesque surroundings of Scone Palace. The track opened in 1903 but racing in Perth can be traced all the way back to 1613.
Our very own Matthew, Director of Racing chatting to Gordon Brown on Tuesday this week ahead of the @BetVictor Perth Festival
Wed 26
Thu 27
Fri 28 April 🏇
🎟 > https://t.co/1vsZOGpdAC pic.twitter.com/g9intdUMeU— perthracecourse (@PerthRacecourse) April 13, 2023
Classic Trials To Watch
On the Flat, Epsom stages its first meeting of the season. It’s also the last fixture before The Derby.
On Tuesday, Classic hopefuls will line up in the Weatherbys Blue Riband Trial. It will be supported by a pair of historic handicaps. The Betfred Great Metropolitan and the City and Suburban both date back more than 170 years. Sandown also hosts a high-quality Flat card on Friday, 24 hours before its jumps finale meeting.
There could be a mouth-watering clash in the Group 3 bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes. Godolphin’s 2021 Derby hero Adayar could go head-to-head with the horse that narrowly beat him in last season’s QIPCO Champion Stakes, Bay Bridge.
The entries for the Group 2 bet365 Mile are also strong with My Prospero, third in last season’s Qipco Champion Stakes, and smart filly Laurel among the possible runners.
The card also features the Group 2 Classic Trial. Several interesting Derby hopefuls, including Zetland Stakes hero Flying Honours and Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten Continuous, are among the entries.
It’s a week that marks the end of a wonderful jumps season and a quickening of pace as the Flat action steps up another gear.
Whichever code you favour, it really is not to be missed.
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