Virgin Bet Heroes Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)

Sandown

15:07

Date 2025-02-01

Distance 2m7f98y

Class Class 1

Going Heavy

Type Hurdle

Surface Turf

Age Band 4yo+

Prize £56,270

Runners (13)

EW Terms: 3 places, ¼ odds (standard bookmaker terms — may vary)

#	Horse	Jockey / Trainer	Wt	Gear	Form	OR	RPR	TS	Last	Crs	Dst	Val	Scr	EW	Odds
4	Henri The Second Bay J:Harry Cobden T:Paul Nicholls	J:Harry Cobden T:Paul Nicholls	156	—	P/4-41	133	152	136	56d	—	—	+2	28.8	0.56/1	9/4 31%
Stormed home well clear when upped to this trip here (heavy) last time; back up 8lb
3	Red Dirt Road Bay J:Jonjo O'Neill Jr T:Jonjo & A J O'Neill	J:Jonjo O'Neill Jr T:Jonjo & A J O'Neill	156	—	4/2-51	133	145	116	37d	—	—	+16	27.3	1.88/1	15/2 12%
Made all at Aintree (2m4f, soft; now up 5lb) on second run back; interesting at new trip
1	Shoot First Bay J:Philip Byrnes(3) T:C Byrnes	J:Philip Byrnes(3) T:C Byrnes	168	—	81/519	145	146	114	42d	—	—	+16	26.6	2.00/1	8/1 11%
Very lightly raced for his age; won valuable handicap at Haydock (3m, soft) in November
8	Dartmoor Pirate Bay J:Sam Twiston-Davies T:Anthony Honeyball	J:Sam Twiston-Davies T:Anthony Honeyball	147	—	242-62	124	146	113	37d	—	—	+11	21.4	1.88/1	15/2 12%
May well have more to offer as a stayer after his Wincanton second when upped to 3m1f
10	What A Johnny Bay J:Gavin Sheehan T:Olly Murphy	J:Gavin Sheehan T:Olly Murphy	143	tp	1-2633	120	145	109	31d	—	—	+18	26.9	2.25/1	9/1 10%
Tongue tied when Cheltenham 3rd behind Idefix De Ciergues; now tries cheekpieces as well
6	Deep Cave b/br J:Jack Tudor T:Christian Williams	J:Jack Tudor T:Christian Williams	153	—	510554	130	145	117	13d	—	—	+16	24.5	2.25/1	9/1 10%
Bold show at Windsor (3m, soft) 13 days ago but three rivals went past him late on
11	Idefix De Ciergues b/br J:Ben Jones T:Rebecca Curtis	J:Ben Jones T:Rebecca Curtis	142	p	-44112	119	143	112	31d	—	—	+29	36.2	3.00/1	12/1 8%
Creditable 2nd at Cheltenham (3m, soft) in hat-trick bid but needs to raise his game again
9	Hauraki Gulf Bay J:Cameron Iles(7) T:Deborah Cole	J:Cameron Iles(7) T:Deborah Cole	145	—	-22272	122	148	118	32d	—	—	+24	29.6	4.00/1	16/1 6%
Scored twice over fences (once on heavy); 0-10 as hurdler but runner-up in eight of those
7	Major Fortune Bay J:Harry Skelton T:Dan Skelton	J:Harry Skelton T:Dan Skelton	148	—	12-166	125	147	108	36d	—	—	+15	20.1	3.50/1	14/1 7%
Tailed off in the fog when back up in trip at Chepstow last time but needs a market check
12	Gaye Legacy Bay J:Ben Poste T:Tom Symonds	J:Ben Poste T:Tom Symonds	142	—	22152-	119	142	121	311d	—	—	+26	31.1	5.00/1	20/1 5%
A right slog in the mud should be right up her street if she's fit enough for reappearance
5	Flight Deck Bay J:Ellis Collier(5) T:Deborah Cole	J:Ellis Collier(5) T:Deborah Cole	155	v	0-0524	132	148	125	64d	—	—	+18	21.3	8.25/1	33/1 3%
There's been a partial revival but he needs better to take this warm race; 5lb claimer on
2	Goshen Bay J:Niall Houlihan T:Gary & Josh Moore	J:Niall Houlihan T:Gary & Josh Moore	161	—	4931-P	138	144	119	14d	—	—	+20	22.7	12.50/1	50/1 2%
One of the game's great enigmas and he's not the percentage call
13	Lucky One Brown J:Miss Roisin Leech(7) T:Jennie Candlish	J:Miss Roisin Leech(7) T:Jennie Candlish	142	—	6886-9	119	144	105	35d	—	—	+16	17.6	31.25/1	125/1 1%
Lots to prove from out of the handicap on second run since his layoff

Horse	bet365	William Hill	Boyle Sports	Ladbrokes	Unibet
Henri The Second	9/4	2/1	9/4	2/1	85/40
Red Dirt Road	15/2	7/1	7/1	7/1	13/2
Shoot First	8/1	15/2	15/2	15/2	8/1
Dartmoor Pirate	15/2	15/2	7/1	15/2	13/2
What A Johnny	8/1	9/1	17/2	17/2	8/1
Deep Cave	9/1	17/2	8/1	17/2	8/1
Idefix De Ciergues	12/1	12/1	12/1	12/1	12/1
Hauraki Gulf	16/1	16/1	16/1	16/1	16/1
Major Fortune	14/1	14/1	14/1	14/1	14/1
Gaye Legacy	16/1	20/1	18/1	18/1	18/1
Flight Deck	33/1	28/1	28/1	28/1	28/1
Goshen	33/1	50/1	33/1	33/1	33/1
Lucky One	100/1	125/1	80/1	80/1	80/1

Predictor

Scored on Official Rating (max 30), Recent Form (max 25), and Market Odds (max 20). Max score: 75.

1st

Idefix De Ciergues

36.2

OR: 17.3 Form: 17 Odds: 1.9

12/1

2nd

Gaye Legacy

31.1

OR: 17.3 Form: 12.5 Odds: 1.4

20/1

3rd

Hauraki Gulf

29.6

OR: 18 Form: 10 Odds: 1.6

16/1

Henri The Second

28.8

OR: 20.8 Form: 0 Odds: 8

9/4

Red Dirt Road

27.3

OR: 20.8 Form: 3.5 Odds: 3.1

15/2

What A Johnny

26.9

OR: 17.5 Form: 7 Odds: 2.4

9/1

Shoot First

26.6

OR: 23.8 Form: 0 Odds: 2.9

8/1

Deep Cave

24.5

OR: 20 Form: 2 Odds: 2.5

9/1

Goshen

22.7

OR: 22 Form: 0 Odds: 0.7

50/1

Dartmoor Pirate

21.4

OR: 18.5 Form: 0 Odds: 2.9

15/2

Flight Deck

21.3

OR: 20.5 Form: 0 Odds: 0.8

33/1

Major Fortune

20.1

OR: 18.8 Form: 0 Odds: 1.4

14/1

Lucky One

17.6

OR: 17.3 Form: 0 Odds: 0.3

125/1

Ratings

Horse	OR	RPR	TS
Shoot First	145	146	114
Goshen	138	144	119
Henri The Second	133	152	136
Red Dirt Road	133	145	116
Flight Deck	132	148	125
Deep Cave	130	145	117
Major Fortune	125	147	108
Dartmoor Pirate	124	146	113
Hauraki Gulf	122	148	118
What A Johnny	120	145	109
Idefix De Ciergues	119	143	112
Gaye Legacy	119	142	121
Lucky One	119	144	105

Last Run

Horse	Last Run	Status
Deep Cave	13d ago	Quick return
Goshen	14d ago	Fit
What A Johnny	31d ago	Fit
Idefix De Ciergues	31d ago	Fit
Hauraki Gulf	32d ago	Fit
Lucky One	35d ago	Fit
Major Fortune	36d ago	Fit
Red Dirt Road	37d ago	Fit
Dartmoor Pirate	37d ago	Fit
Shoot First	42d ago	Fit
Henri The Second	56d ago	Fresh
Flight Deck	64d ago	Fresh
Gaye Legacy	311d ago	Long break