Contain your excitement, this is a Saturday for getting yourself in the mood

Calm down, calm down. You have got to eat your vegetables before you can have dessert.

That's not to say Sandown is serving up a bowl full of broccoli and Brussels sprouts, far from it in fact, with an ultra-competitive Imperial Cup, a Grade 3 novice hurdle and a Listed mares' bumper.

But, with the countdown to Cheltenham ticking into cramming time, Sandown could have Sir Anthony McCoy coming out of retirement to ride over the railway fences and few would bat an eyelid.

This is a Saturday for containing your excitement and getting yourself in the right mood for four days of ecstasy. And what better way to get yourself in the mood than backing the Imperial Cup winner.

It used to be so simple. Look for a Pipe and then smoke it. Martin won it six times, David three, but the most recent winner to have hailed from Pond House was Baltimore Rock in 2014.

The Imperial Cup is tricky, however, with no winning favourite since Qaspal in 2010, and the average price of the winner since then is 15-1, with three winners at 20-1. Paul Nicholls has never won it. No pressure, Malaya.

The ITV4 cameras are also, for the only time this year, at Wolverhampton, where the Lincoln Trial sees the return of last year’s Easter Classic winner Victory Bond, while the 113-rated Oh This Is Us looks sure to start favourite for the Listed Lady Wulfruna Stakes.

Wondering what will win at Wolverhampton just 72 hours before the Cheltenham Festival kicks off is a bit like requesting Fairytale of New York in July, but we cannot forget the Flat. What's more, it's Super Saturday at Meydan, with plenty of British and Irish-trained runners, and plenty of money up for grabs.

But anyway, spoons at the ready, it's almost time to tuck into that double chocolate cake. I hope you're hungry.

Bonus balls everywhere

We're in bonus territory. Once again Matchbook are offering a £100,000 bonus to connections of the winner of the Imperial Cup should he or she go on to win any race at the Cheltenham Festival – £60,000 to the owner, £20,000 to the trainer and £10,000 each to the winning jockey – or split equally in the event of different riders – and stable staff.

The most recent recipient of the lucrative bonus was Gaspara in 2007, with the four-year-old following up in the Fred Winter. The 1993 winner Olympian went on to win the Coral Cup, while Blowing Wind did the business in the County Hurdle in 1998, five days after justifying 5-1 favouritism at Sandown.

What do those three have in common? You guessed it, they were all trained by the Pipe family.

Of the 15 runners in the Imperial Cup, only Our Merlin, All Yours and Pyromaniac do not hold entries at Cheltenham.

The hat-trick seeking Monsieur Lecoq has the option of the County Hurdle and Martin Pipe, as do Dream Du Grand Val and Extra Mag. Speredek does not boast an entry over hurdles next week but could turn up in the Grand Annual. Now that's what you call versatile.

Imperial Cup winner Olympian (Peter Scudamore) went on to land a £50,000 festival bonus for the Martin Pipe stableCredit: Gerry Cranham

BONUS CONTENDERS
Monsieur Lecoq County Hurdle/Martin Pipe
Dream Du Grand Val County Hurdle/Martin Pipe
First Flow County Hurdle
Malaya County Hurdle
Benny's Bridge Supreme/County Hurdle
Call Me Lord Coral Cup/County Hurdle
Storm Rising County Hurdle
Chti Balko County Hurdle
Speredek Grand Annual
Totterdown County Hurdle

Find the one who is 9-2

It might not help you solve the riddle but the last five winners of the Listed mares' bumper (3.00) at Sandown have all returned with an SP of 9-2.

Gaillimh A Chroi (2014), Babylone Des Motte (2015), The Nipper (2016), Cap Soleil (2017) and Queenohearts (2018) all started at that price.

The last winning favourite was Call Me A Star in 2012.

Top novice contest

The EBF Matchbook VIP 'National Hunt' Novices' Handicap Hurdle Final (1.50) is always fiercely contested and this year is no different with 18 lining up in the £75,000 Grade 3.

Among this race's famous alumni is Many Clouds, who finished second in 2013 before winning the Grand National for Oliver Sherwood in 2015.

The trainer, who has yet to win the race, runs Southern Sam, a low-weight five-year-old who finished second at Fakenham last time.

Nigel Twiston-Davies is another seeking a first success and sends out One For Rosie, who has been prominent in the market after winning decisively at Warwick at the end of February.

He could be vying for favouritism with the Nicky Henderson-trained Before Midnight, one of five last-time-out winners in the field bidding to give the champion trainer his third victory in the contest.

Ex cheats on Cheltenham punters

There was no shortage of swear words said in front of computers on Friday morning when the name of Ex Patriot appeared among the final declarations of the Holden Plant Rentals Shamrock Handicap Chase (3.40) at Gowran Park. You could almost hear the scrunching of ante-post dockets.

You see Ex Patriot, fourth to Defi Du Seuil in the 2017 Triumph Hurdle, holds entries in the Brown Advisory, County Hurdle, Grand Annual and Martin Pipe next week.

Now it looks like none of those engagements will be taken up as Ellmarie Holden has chosen to chase this lucrative prize – €29,500 to the winner – on home soil instead.

It will be no cakewalk, though, with the 148-rated Doctor Phoenix in opposition.

From snow to sand

Berrahri, fresh from his triumph at St Moritz last month, is back in Britain with connections hoping he can translate his good form and complete a hat-trick.

The eight-year-old lines up at Kempton on Saturday evening for the second division of the 1m4f handicap (7.00) under regular rider Kieren Fox, having won on consecutive weekends in Switzerland, and notably giving trainer John Best’s Kent yard a cherished first victory in the Grosser Preis Von St. Moritz.

While the Swiss track has been his happiest hunting ground, Berrahri does have two wins at Kempton to his credit and should be at least competitive, though connections already have one eye on the 2020 ‘white turf’ season.

Best said in his stable newsletter: "The Grosser Preis Von St. Moritz was the one we really wanted to win and the patient ride by Kieren ensured we still had plenty of horse in the closing stages as the pacesetters started to pay the price for the fast early gallop.

"Hopefully he'll stay fit and well and be able to defend his crown this time next year."

Don't forget Dubai

While the Cheltenham Festival is the main racing event on everyone’s lips, Super Saturday at Meydan is a reminder that the Flat is waiting in the wings to take centre stage.

The Unibet Lincoln is three weeks on Saturday, as is the Dubai World Cup card, the main lead-in to which comes at Meydan with a seven-race card worth more than £2 million.

Familiar horses and jockeys abound, with Blue Point, Prince Of Arran, Thunder Snow and Gronkowski among the runners, and Frankie Dettori, Jim Crowley and Christophe Soumillon among the riding ranks.

The highlight is the third and final round of the Al Maktoum Challenge, in which last year’s Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow makes his first appearance since running a brave third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

Soumillon’s use of the whip that day sparked much debate, but with the jockey having partnered a five-year-old whom he regards as one of his favourite horses – if not the favourite – in 15 of his last 16 starts, there was never any doubt he would be back on board. Three of those 16 ended in a Group 1 triumph.

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