Sandown Horse Racing Tips for Friday

Here are the latest horse racing betting tips for Friday's action at Sandown, a card sponsored by bet365, from Racing Post tipster Phill Anderson.

Friday's Horse Racing Betting Tips and Odds

13:15 Sandown - Star Chorus @ 6/1
13:50 Sandown - Dividend @ 4/1
15:00 Sandown - Dancing Gemini @ 11/4

13:15 Sandown - Star Chorus @ 6/1

Andrew Balding could hardly have had a better start to this turf season and he has a fascinating contender in Sandown’s opener, the 5f bet365 Handicap.

Star Chorus had looked highly promising in his novice company at the back end of last season, particularly at Newcastle in November when finishing a close up third despite meeting some interference.

He bounced back from a couple of lesser efforts when winning at Southwell in January; giving the impression that the penny had started to drop for this speedily bred son of Mehmas.

He did particularly well to quicken up off what was only a moderate gallop set by those in front and the way he finished off his race at Southwell suggested there was plenty more in the tank.

Balding’s charge went up 6lb in the weights for that success and finds himself 4lb wrong at the weights for this race, but it’s very interesting that connections are happy to potentially ruin his mark at this early stage of his three-year-old campaign, possibly suggesting that a Pattern campaign isn’t too far down the line.

His dam, Summer Chorus, was also a useful sprinter, progressing well throughout her career for this trainer in the same silks and there’s a fair chance this three-year-old will have taken a decent step forward since his January outing.

A gelding procedure may also help eke out more improvement and he looks like the value play in the race.

13:50 Sandown - Dividend @ 4/1

Dividend’s sole turf success came at this venue and he has to be a major player having gone three from three on the all-weather this winter.

The way he’s finished off his last two races at Southwell gives the impression that he’s going to relish the stiff finish of Sandown’s round track and he won in better style than the margin suggested when stepped up to Class 3 company last time out, pointing to a 7lb rise being at the very worst, fair.

He has to take on some nice prospects here, including the 4lb “well in” Thunder Wonder who he made easy work of earlier this month and still only finds himself 1lb worse off at the weights with that rival.

Slow ground would be a concern but with a dry forecast from Wednesday onwards, conditions may come right for him.

15:00 Sandown - Dancing Gemini @ 11/4

The bet365 Mile is the feature race on day one of Sandown’s meeting and it’s hard to get away from the claims of Dancing Gemini.

Roger Teal’s stable star bolted up in the Doncaster Mile on his seasonal reappearance, looking like he had a bright future ahead for 2025 and that was something he hinted at on Champions’ Day at the end of last season.

Unlike most of his main rivals in this field, he has a fitness edge and a return to a stiffer track could see him to even better effect, particularly if there’s a bit of cut in the ground. He looks like the right favourite at the time of writing.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.