Horse racing tips: Dave Nevison marks your card for Thursday

Looking out of my window on Wednesday morning, it looks distinctly possible that Sandown could be heavy for its evening meeting and the track is one of my least favourite punting venues in desperate ground. I will be watching the Listed Heron Stakes while looking elsewhere for my bets.

I put him up at 22/1 last time and I was pleased that he came back to form, but a big-priced runner-up is nowhere near a winner and it was doubly galling to read Kajaki lost a shoe during the race, something which is unlikely to have helped him much.

He is 3lb higher now but remains extremely well-handicapped on his best form, and he will definitely run well again if he is in the same fettle. This trip, track and grade of race are fine for him, and Brian Hughes back on board is obviously a plus.

The one worry is the ground - I would not be concerned if it eased a little but I will probably bale out if it turns heavy. In any event, I suspect he may not run in that case and I am happy to trust his trainer’s judgement.

He seems to be improving at the age of 10, and this longer trip might enable him to go one better than last time.

Minella Voucher ran his best race last time at Ffos Las, and I feel that form can be upgraded slightly after he just came off worse in a protracted battle with a rival who had dropped well below his last winning mark.

It is always a worry that a horse has a run of three seconds in handicaps and I am not questioning that he lacks pace, but having watched his last two runs I don’t believe he lacks heart. The step-up in trip to the longest he has tackled would seem a very logical step to help him win and any deterioration in the ground will not worry him at all.

This filly is in a rich vein of form, but remains only 7lbs higher than the start of her strong run when winning at this track in December.

After a short winter break, Alezan has come back even stronger going by her recent turf win at Brighton and she might not have stopped improving. She is well-enough drawn in stall 4 given she will be ridden up with the pace and definitely has more guts than pace rival Spiritofthenorth. She is also equally effective over a mile as the seven furlongs she won over last time.

Georgia Dobie has won here aboard Alezan and has only been out of the frame once from several rides, so she clearly gets on well with his filly and claims a valuable extra 5lbs off her back.