Dave Nevison tips: best bets at Sandown and Chelmsford on Thursday

Gunsight Ridge has not always jumped brilliantly, but was still going well enough to figure at Wetherby last time when he fell four out. 

However, he has run and jumped well at Sandown on both his previous outings here, winning one plus was placed in the other. 

The course suits horses who are ridden up with the pace, and Gunsight Ridge won here on heavy ground, so he will definitely be OK under the conditions. 

He has never run in a 0-135 handicap over fences, so the lower grade might enable him to get into an easier rhythm, and allow him to focus on his jumping. He looks a decent each-way bet.

There are some fundamentally slow horses in this handicap, and not many of them arrive here in the best of form, so it is worth looking for one at a decent price. 

Trincomalee might be the one here, despite the fact he needs to produce a run over fences that measures up to his hurdles form, something he has not yet managed to do. 

However, he reappeared after an absence at Newbury last time out and I thought ran alright until he made a mistake around halfway, and was looked after by his rider to get home. 

Trincomalee has now dropped 13lb below his hurdles mark, and has certainly been given a chance by the handicapper. Lucy Wadham has had more seconds than she would like recently, but her horses are in very good form, which is another positive.

At Liberty has improved with each of his four outings he's has had for Mick Appleby so far (the first two were also over 7f which is too short for him these days) and he got beaten just a nose last time out at Wolverhampton. 

Just six days on from that run, I would be very surprised if he wasn’t in the same form on Thursday evening.

He has dropped in the weights to a mark 5lb below his last win for Michael Bell, and I think he should be favourite to win this.