Horse racing tips: Three bets for Sandown and Wincanton

With further rain forecast at Sandown over the next 24 hours, and the going already described as soft, it is likely the conditions could be verging on heavy before racing gets underway.

Whatever the outcome, the ground is sure to be testing at the Esher venue, and the same can be said at Wincanton where further rain is also due on Saturday morning.

The feature contest during the afternoon is, of course, the Grade One Unibet Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle (2.25pm), and while it may not be the most attractive betting heat with Constitution Hill a general 4-11 chance, we will hopefully witness a future superstar in action.

Already a best-priced 4-1 ante-post for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, it will be disappointing if he is not up to winning the two-mile showpiece on Saturday given the impression he created on debut, and the vibes from connections, despite the fact he faces stronger opposition here.

Onto the contests that are more appealing from a betting point of view, and Up The Straight looks a shade overpriced at 15-2 in the Unibet Horserace Betting Operator Of The Year Handicap Chase (1.50pm).

Richard Rowe’s charge has been set some difficult tasks on his past two starts after he made the most of a good opportunity on his seasonal debut at Plumpton, and this is a much more realistic contest for him to be competitive in.

The eight-year-old finished second in a similar event to this at Sandown in March on soft ground over four furlongs further, and looked the winner until he ran out of stamina on the run in.

He now finds himself on a 3lb lower mark, and races over two miles for the first time in his career, which looks a wise move given how he has shaped on more than one occasion over further.

He will, at least, have stamina in reserve which will be needed in the testing conditions, and his latest effort wasn’t actually that bad considering he was beaten off level weights by two rivals who are rated higher than him, and he possibly took the winner on earlier than ideal.

Off a career-low rating of 132, and with Niall Houlihan claiming a handy 3lb off his back, it would be disappointing if the selection cannot go close here with conditions to suit.

Over at Wincanton, Grey Diamond looks to hold strong claims of landing the advancedBiotech.co.uk UK Award Winning CBD Handicap Chase (2.05pm)

This eight-year-old produced some strong form in handicap chases towards the end of last season, including when finishing fifth behind Editeur Du Gite at Aintree in a contest that has worked out well.

He now races off a 3lb lower mark here following two efforts in defeat this season, but I thought he shaped as though he needed the run on his return to action at Ascot, and although he was a shade disappointing at Newbury last time out, he did not wear a hood plus was also forced to make the running, so I think it is best to forgive that effort given he is a generally consistent performer.

Thankfully, the hood has been re-applied here by connections and this also represents a drop-in class for Grey Diamond who has the strongest form next to his name.

He also finished second on his only start at Wincanton in 2019 and will not be inconvenienced by soft ground, so with the potential for further improvement over fences again this season, he looks the one to be on, especially with the talented Jack Tudor claiming a useful 3lb.

Hopefully, we have saved the best until last as there is lots to like about the chances of Mack The Man in the Unibet Casino Deposit 10 Get 40 Handicap Hurdle (3.35pm) at Sandown.

The Evan Williams-trained gelding showed useful form over hurdles in 2019, with his victories including a Listed contest where he defeated the classy Protektorat and was still in the mix when brought down in the 2020 Betfair Hurdle.

I think it is fair to say things have not exactly gone to plan for the eight-year-old since, especially as he failed to sparkle in two starts over fences last season, but he was successful when returning to the smaller obstacles last year and finished third in the Imperial Cup over this course and distance off a 2lb lower mark.

Although he has won fresh in the past, he was entitled to improve for his seasonal debut – which is likely to have been a prep run for the Betfair Exchange Trophy in December - and he narrowly scored after travelling well on ground that would have been too fast for him.

His handler has said that his charge is seen at his best on soft ground, and he was a non-runner at Ascot last month due to the ground conditions, but the going will certainly be in his favour on Saturday.

Mack The Man still has the potential to be better than a 130-rated hurdler, and this looks a good opportunity for him.