Sandown Saturday Cheltenham Pointers

With the added incentive of winning a £75,000 bonus if you can win the Imperial Cup and a race at next week’s Cheltenham Festival, this year’s renewal is another intriguing contest with 24 runners going to post.

Many hold festival entries and they will want to use this Sandown race as a stepping stone for their attempt of a quick-fire double. David Pipe has form for winning the £75k bonus with Gaspara and Ashkazar and he saddles Arrayan for this 2m contest.

The six-year-old had shown great promise at Wincanton and Hereford early in the season but came crashing down at Taunton last time out and you have to question whether he will be good enough for this race.

Ronaldo Des Mottes is the classy horse of the race but with top weight may struggle to fend off some up-and-coming rivals.

One horse in particular that stands out is the Emma Lavelle-trained Kangaroo Court.

The seven-year-old is returning to hurdles after a couple of falls over fences but if he can regain some form then should go close.

He was seen at last year’s Cheltenham Festival finishing mid-division in the Arkle and previously had been battling out with some quality horses over fences. However, if you look at his hurdle form before he went chasing, it stacks up very well, with his second to Karabak being the stand-out.

He has had a lengthy time off the track but if Lavelle can rejuvenate the gelding then it could be the each way steal in a tricky affair.

Earlier on in the card, David Pipe has an interesting runner in the 13:55 in Dynaste, who was an impressive second behind Aegean Dawn before narrowly winning last time out. He is en route to Cheltenham and this warm-up could result in victory for the five-year-old.