'He's been laid out for this' - our experts give their views on the weekend's racing

Sandown's Imperial Cup is the big betting heat on Saturday. Who wins it?

Richard Bandey, trainer My selection is Knickerbockerglory. He was second in the race last year, the ground and track suit and although he's a little bit higher in the weights this time he's coming off a good sixth in the Betfair Hurdle. He has a decent each-way chance for a team who do well in the race.

Olly Eden, deputy weeklies editor Faivoir looks an interesting each-way proposition for Dan Skelton, who won this with Langer Dan in 2021 and saddled the second and third in last year's running. The nine-year-old is tricky to predict but bounced back to form when fifth in the Betfair Hurdle last month. He won the County Hurdle last season off just a 2lb lower mark and his form figures in the month of March, which read 131301, catch the eye.

Tim Peters, commentator Paul Nicholls has won two of the last four runnings of the Imperial Cup and I like the claims of Sans Bruit. A frequent winner when trained in France, this six-year-old will strip a lot fitter for the stable debut at Doncaster. Now dropped 2lb and with the hood back on, he can be much more competitive here.