Tom Scudamore: Tongue tie can boost High Stakes bid at Sandown

He looked the likely winner last time, but he didn’t quite finish the race off, so he wears the tongue tie for the first time, and hopefully that will help him come Saturday.

3.00 Sandown – Ramses De Teillee

It was a fantastic performance last time to win the way he did at Warwick, and although the handicapper has had his say, you’d have to say he’s got a favourite’s chance in this.

He’s still lower in the weights than when winning at Cheltenham a few years ago, and he’s in good order at home, so I don’t suspect the rise in the weights will be a major problem for him.

He hasn’t done an awful lot of racing right-handed, but when he has, he’s actually run very well, so I don’t think Sandown will hold any fears for him. Conditions should be perfect, so there’s plenty to like about him.

Sunday

1.40 Chepstow – Duc De Beauchene

He’s been disappointing so far this season, but as a result, he’s now below his last winning mark. This will be the easiest race he’s contested for a little while, but although he’s won round Chepstow before, you couldn’t be massively confident in him based on what he’s shown so far this season.

2.10 Chepstow – First Lord De Cuet

It was a brilliant run after a lay-off last time when finishing second at Ffos Las, so a reproduction of that effort would give him a big chance. He was pretty fit that day, so I wouldn’t expect a huge amount of improvement from that run, but even if he steps forward a bit, that would be ideal.

Chepstow should suit him, as should the extra distance here, so if he runs as well as he did last time, then I’m hoping he could be very tough to beat.

2.40 Chepstow – Broomfields Cave

He ran pretty well the last day at Taunton when staying on to finish fourth in a decent looking race. There are lots of runners here and it’s bound to be another competitive race, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he improved from that outing at Taunton.

He’ll make a nice staying chaser one day, so Chepstow should suit him better, but he looks like one that will learn on the job and improve with each outing, so he’s a nice horse for the future.

Tom

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