The Data Detective: clues and tips for Sandown on Thursday

Where Love Lives owes his name to a dance anthem, and he cut some great shapes when winning on his debut at Thirsk.

His mum and dad were both fast juveniles – they won the Molecomb and Super Sprint between them – and he’s clearly inherited some of their zip, being quickest to 20mph (2.33sec) on his debut at Thirsk and never being headed.

He raced most professionally, clocking Par furlongs all the way and dipping 0.83 seconds under the overall RaceiQ Par Time. He was fastest through furlongs 1, 4 and 5 and the Time Index was 6.9, when the meeting average was 4.4.

The front two pulled well clear and the runner-up, Hickory Lad, went one better next time before chasing home the useful Adonius in the Lily Agnes at Chester. The 4-1 on offer looks fair enough.

There are no habitual front-runners in the Henry II Stakes and that could play into the hands of Epic Poet, who is effective over much shorter and doesn’t strike as a 2m slogger. The 8-1 on offer represents each-way value.

He was a solid third to Rahiebb in the Yorkshire Cup last time, with Further five lengths adrift, and his effort to split Rebel’s Romance and Sweet William in the same race a year earlier is well worth a second look, as that was a slow-run affair, much as this might be.

Moreover, Sweet William also has a 5lb penalty to shoulder here and so is worse off at the weights.

Epic Poet is an infrequent winner but he generally gives his running and, from 15 of his races in the database, he’s had the highest or second highest Finishing Speed Percentage on 11 occasions.

Sweet William will be inconvenienced if they dawdle, while Lazy Griff has been operated on for a knee injury since he last ran 11 months ago.

Talk Of New York finished off with two rapid furlongs when winning easily in a slick time on his debut at Kempton in October (2.29sec quicker than the RaceiQ Par) and was also clinical when scoring at Newmarket last time, when fastest in furlongs 3, 4, 6 and 7. 

In between, events conspired against him when a staying-on third at Meydan, and the form of that race is working out well. He’s boasted the best Finishing Speed percentage in each of his races.              

His connections resisted running him in the 2000 Guineas and the gentler approach can be rewarded ahead of a possible tilt at the St James’s Palace Stakes. There are three other Godolphin runners in the race but he’s the No 1 for the boys in blue.

Raammee is the odds-on favourite after following up his dramatic debut win at Kempton with a 12-length romp at Newcastle. The form has holes in it, though, and his times have been nothing special. 

The early 8-1 on offer from William Hill about Saytarr (they are also offering three places for each-way players) makes much more appeal as there is a lot less guesswork involved in gauging his merit. 

After reeling off a hat-trick of wins on the all-weather, when boasting the best Finishing Speed Percentage each time, he was a fine third at Ascot on his latest start. 

Slow to reach 20mph, he sat last of the 11 runners for the first half of the race and still had only one behind him with two furlongs left to run. He built on being fastest of all in furlong six by zooming to the head of affairs in furlong seven but that left him vulnerable in the final 220 yards and he could not quite finish the job off. 

A 1lb rise looks lenient and he is reunited with Dan Muscutt, who is 3/3 on him. 

Luzon Heights seems sure to make his presence felt in the finale after solid spins at Newmarket and Ascot this term 

He was beaten a length or less on both occasions, confirming that the Rowley Mile did not look ideal for him when turning the tables on rivals who finished ahead of him that day at the latter track. 

Luzon Heights was fastest in each of the final three furlongs at Ascot, helping him grab the silver medal after being last of the 11 runners with three furlongs to run. 

He looks the type to improve again when getting in a race run at an end-to-end gallop and the RaceiQ pace map indicates he could get that here.