Sky Bet Sunday Series preview, tips and horses to follow

Scottish Sun columnist and Racing TV analyst Ed Watson pinpointed winners at each of the last three Sky Bet Sunday Series fixtures (Reach 7/4, Blow Your Horn 16/5 and Nigiri 11/8). Here, he delves into the series finale at Sandown, where he likes the chances of one of the two bonus-hunters to hit the £100,000 jackpot.

DERRY LAD (5.15)

The ratings ceiling has been lifted to 0-95 for the Sprint, Mile and Stayers races, yet remains at 0-85 for the Middle Distance apprentices’ handicap in which Derry Lad will make his second attempt at scoping the £100,000 bonus for being the first horse to win three times in this year’s Series.

His first at Haydock a fortnight ago all looked to be going to plan as the rapidly-improving five-year-old loomed alongside long-time leader Auld Toon Loon (reopposes here on 3lb worse terms) a furlong out looking every inch the winner, only to get bogged down in a Haydock quagmire when the slightest of Shane Gray’s pushes came to shove.

While beaten the best part of four lengths into third at the line, the manner in which he moved through that contest was that of a horse with wriggle room left in his handicap mark, especially from 1lb lower and, crucially, back on better ground.

The form of the second of his two Series wins at Pontefract in late-June has continued to be franked since, most notably by runner-up Wootoon’Sun, who followed up his Old Newton Cup victory by going under by only a short-head to Scampi at Saturday’s Shergar Cup.

Tipperary trainer Kevin Coleman has booked Benoit De La Sayette, the most experienced rider in the line-up, in what is another positive for his chances

The Inside Word:“We’ve given Derry Lad a freshen up since Haydock. He looks good and he’s held his weight well since then, but he was tired for a few days after that last run and you never know how much it’s taken out of them until you ask them to go into the trenches again. Ideally we’d have had a few more days between races, but we’ll give it a go.” - Kevin Coleman, trainer

OUZO (5.45)

It’s been a long time between, ahem, drinks for Ouzo. Knocking on for 35 months and 19 races, to be precise. So why might a horse who’s so consistent that the handicapper rarely shows him any mercy finally see the saloon doors swing open in front of him?

1) He’s got his ideal ground and trip.

2) Two, he’s likely to get a lovely tow into this thanks to a whole posse of get-on-with-job, front-foot types.

3) He’s not been handed a duff draw out on the wing, as so often seemed to be the case during a winter in Dubai when he ran creditably in defeat every time.

4) He boasts an excellent record at Sandown, where he’s yet to finish out of the first three in four previous visits.

5) He’s returning to Esher on the back of season’s-best effort when splitting Perotto and Dutch Decoy, both subsequent winners, in an even stronger handicap over course and distance six weeks ago.

…and 6) He’s ridden by Saffie Osborne. If the jockey who’s turned the Racing League into a one-woman show for the second year running can bring just a little of her magic from that series to this one, then Ouzo’s surely a shoo-in. In fact, what could possibly go wrong?

The Inside Word:“Ouzo’s been a model of consistency for the last two years and really deserves to win a nice handicap. He’s a jockey’s dream to ride. He’s very versatile tactically, so I can push on from stall 1 if there’s no pace or slot in behind if there is. This is a decent race, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not a Hunt Cup or a Golden Mile, and I hope he can make his class count dropping down a grade.” - Saffie Osborne, jockey

OMNISCIENT (6.45)

Conditions in Esher should be much more to the liking of Blow Your Horn, who was an 11th-hour absentee at Haydock a fortnight ago. That could yet prove a canny decision by trainer Ian Williams, as this rejuvenated six-year-old’s chances of bagging the £100k bonus may well have been lost for good in the Merseyside mud.

On the flip side, he’s now facing stronger opposition, with the ratings ceiling for the Stayers division raised to 0-95. As such, this race - in which Evaluation failed by a nose to bag the six-figure bounty for the now-retired Keith Dalgleish 12 months ago - is much deeper than the one he landed over 2m2f at Pontefract eight weeks ago.

Off a 6lb higher mark here, I suspect Blow Your Horn may prove vulnerable in this higher grade, as he was when sent off favourite for the Northumberland Vase before his revised mark kicked in.

The horse which interests me most here is Omniscient. Given a trademark Sir Mark Prescott start to life, he first caught my eye when bolting up in a Yarmouth maiden handicap last July over 1m2f. He did the same two runs later over 1m4f at Southwell in October.

I had him marked out as a handicapper to follow in 2023, especially upped to staying trips, but presumably things didn’t go entirely to plan in the early part of the year as Omniscient didn’t make his comeback until last month’s Northumberland Plate.

He ran a remarkable race there, pulling like an express train on his first try at 2m, yet hitting the front inside the final quarter-mile before not quite getting home.

I’m willing to gloss over a below-par run over 1m6f at Goodwood last time on account of the heavy ground. That idiosyncratic track possibly isn’t his cup of earl grey, either, as that’s the second time he’s underperformed there.

The galloping nature of a more conventional circuit like Sandown will play to his strengths and Omniscient makes each-way appeal at double-digit odds, provided the ground remains decent.

The Inside Word:“I can see him running a big race. He ran very well in the Northumberland Plate but he didn’t quite stay, then was unsuited by the extreme conditions at Goodwood. You’ll see a better version of Omniscient on a nice big galloping track like Sandown. He’s a good-moving horse, so I’m just hoping the rain stays away.” - Luke Morris, jockey

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