Sandown Racing Tips: Best Bets And Odds For Friday

Sandown best bets

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There’s a high-quality card at Sandown on Friday afternoon as they kick off their Flat season at the Esher course and I’ve been through the form and odds on betting sites to come up with four Sandown tips.

Old Gold can shine brightest in opener

A competitive opener to the Sandown Park card sees the majority of the field returning for a first start of the season. It’s probably significant that James Doyle, who gets the pick of the Wathnan Racing-owned runners, has chosen OLD IS GOLD ahead of Underwriter for this race and we’ll take the hint.

It’s rare that Andrew Balding’s string is out of form and he has again started the season well. The selection has won just one of his five starts to date, a conditions contest over a stiff 5f at Beverley (good) last May.

This is a similarly tough 5f track to tackle, so that winning experience augurs well, while he’s already proven over 6f, having gone close in a nursery at last year’s Glorious Goodwood meeting (good to soft).

His only disappointing effort so far was when he was unable to race prominently at York (6f, good to firm) last August. I expect him to bounce out here and he has generally travelled well, so this return to 5f shouldn’t be a problem, while his trainer is a past master at getting his runners ready to perform first time out.

He looks like a small stakes play on horse racing betting sites.

Sandown tip 1: Old Is Gold – 1pt win @ 9/2 (BOYLE Sports)

Organise going for a hat-trick in the Esher Cup

Five of the eight runners are last-time winners, giving this 1m contest a competitive look. Cases can be made for about half a dozen runners but the strongest case could be that of ORGANISE.

Coincidentally, he’s another owned by Wathnan Racing, in his case being trained by John and Thady Gosden. The yard is in good form, as is this three-year-old son of Night Of Thunder.

He romped home by seven lengths on his debut outing at Southwell last November (7f, AW), putting up a smart performance in doing so. Then, under a penalty for that success, he made a successful turf debut at Yarmouth recently (1m, good).

Strictly on the form book, that wasn’t quite as good as his initial win but I think he can come on again for it. He hit a little bit of a flat spot when the tap was turned on, before coming home strongly to win going away.

The horse he conceded 7lb to that day was very well supported, so I still think that it can be marked up and he looks likely to be pretty well treated from an initial mark of 97.

Sandown tip 2: Organise – 2pt win @ 11/8 (BetVictor)

Field of Gold can resume winning ways in the bet365 Mile

A high-class contest in prospect and there’s none classier in this field than FIELD OF GOLD, who, of course, finished second in last season’s 2,000 Guineas, won the Irish equivalent and went on to land the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He’s officially rated 5lb clear of this Group 2 field, while the way the race is framed means he is actually a minimum of 8lb clear of everything in the field, compared to if this were a level weights contest.

He has a good record when fresh and represents a top yard with no concerns over first-time fitness. Admittedly, his last couple of starts last year saw him dip below the high standards he’d set for himself but he is unlikely to need to perform to his optimum to win this.

Sandown tip 3: Field Of Gold (Sandown, 15.00) – 3pt win @ 5/4 (Ladbrokes)

Action looks a confident favourite for Classic trial

He’s 1-4 so far but he’s yet to be beaten more than a length and a half and ACTION looks a good favourite on betting apps in this Group 3 contest over 1m2f.

Aidan O’Brien trained last year’s winner of this, Swagman, who was partnered by Ryan Moore and he’s on board this Frankel three-year-old, who holds entries in the Dante, the Guineas and both the Derby and its Irish equivalent, being as short as 10/1 for the last-named.

He improved with each start last season, winning a Galway maiden before finishing second in the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket (1m, good to firm) and then a close second in the Group 1 Futurity at Doncaster (1m, heavy) when last seen in October.

In terms of actual racecourse achievements, he has plenty in hand on the field, while he is closely related to the Derby winner, Lambourn, so there’s every chance that this step up in trip can help him to improve further on this reappearance.

Sandown tip 4: Action – 3pt win @ 6/4 (bet365)

Gamble responsibly

If you’re having a bet on Friday’s racing, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling.

Betting can be addictive, and it’s important to stay in control of your gambling, whether you’re using online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, bingo sites or any other gambling platform.

Never treat gambling as a way to make money, never bet more than you can afford and when the fun stops, stop.

Gambling sites offer punters tools, like deposit limits, profit and loss trackers and self-exclusion options, to help you stay in control.

Try not to get carried away by free bets or casino bonuses, which are widely available on gambling apps.

But if you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don’t hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.

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