More big Booms for improving novice?

We all know where the real dress rehearsals are taking place this weekend but Musselburgh’s two-day meeting is a good one for the track and does, after all, get billed as the bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials fixture. Thankfully, the weather doesn’t look too bad in the lead-up although it’s a decent drying course regardless of what falls from the sky.

Conditions don’t seem to matter when it comes to the rapidly-progressive Boomslang, who has won three and finished second in his other two starts so far this season. The way he picked up to score over the extended two and a half miles at this venue on New Year’s Day (replay below) marked him down as a horse going places and another 7lb hike looks perfectly manageable.

Rebecca Menzies has entered the eight-year-old in three races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, and with in excess of £50,000 to the winner, surely connections will be leaning towards having a pop at Saturday’s bet365 Scottish Champion Chase. He certainly won’t look out of place in such a contest.

Keep Cardinal in mind

Arizona Cardinal is an interesting entry in the same event, although Sandown’s Virgin Bet Masters Handicap Chase looks a better fit and Stuart Edmunds has given him the option down south too which looks promising.

After ending last season on a Topham Chase high, things were bound to be a bit tougher for Arizona Cardinal this time around but the comeback run at Chepstow in October can clearly be excused, especially as he went off for wind surgery soon after, while the cross-country effort at Cheltenham in December was better than it looks at face value too.

He seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself popping around that unique course before ultimately being outpaced as the tempo picked up, but a mid-pack finish behind Stumptown has to go down as a decent run and one he’ll hopefully build on back over regulation fences.

The handicapper has relented a little so he now runs off just 4lb higher than when beating James Du Berlais at Aintree and he missed last weekend’s Great Yorkshire Chase on account of drying ground so every drop of rain will be welcome wherever Arizona Cardinal might turn up on Saturday.

Daly prophet on return to action?

Sticking with Sandown, it’s good to see Henry Daly’s Blenkinsop entered up for the Virgin Bet Heroes Handicap Hurdle (he’s also in at Wetherby on the same day) having been off the track since dipping his toe in Grade 1 waters at the Grand National meeting of 2023.

Blenkinsop had won four handicaps earlier on in that novice campaign and has a record of 4-8 over hurdles all told so if he’s anywhere near ready to do himself justice then a mark of 131 might not be completely beyond him.

Skelton to add to growing Grand Annual list?

In the other big handicap on the Sandown card – the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Handicap Chase – it’s Etalon who catches the eye.

Set to reappear just 13 days on from an early exit in the Windsor event completely dominated by Matata, it’s not hard to envisage Dan Skelton’s horse enjoying a return to Esher where he bolted up in a handicap off just a 4lb lower mark last February.

This season has been a slow burner for Etalon, to say the least, but he was at his peak around this time last year and clearly enjoys it when getting his toe into the ground.

The Skeltons seem to have a huge group to choose from when it comes to defending their Grand Annual crown at Cheltenham, including the 2024 winner Unexpected Party who ran a decent race when second in the aforementioned Winter Million event at Windsor, and it’s worth noting that Etalon might need to nudge up the handicap again if he’s to throw his hat into the ring and make the cut for the Festival.

Published at 1540 GMT on 27/01/25

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