Biggest even on the jump racing calendar may be next week, but there’s still plenty of great horse racing to enjoy and pad your wallets with before 13th March. We always love it when we find a horse race that could return big on its winners, and we’ve happened upon one for today.
At 2:25, 17 horses are slated to run in the Matchbook Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle. It’s a Grade 3, Class 1 race for horses that are four-years-old or above. With eight hurdles in the way, the field looks fairly closely contested with a favourite that is given odds well above evens.
While doing your own research is important when betting on the horse racing, here are three horses who we think you should keep an eye out for in the Matchbook Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle today.
The favourite: Whatswrongwithyou
Trained by Nicky Henderson and jockeyed by Nico de Boinville, there’s no wonder why the seven-year-old Whatswrongwithyou is coming in as the favourite. To bolster the horse’s claim, it’s in stunning form.
Since the turn of the year, Whatswrongwithyou has finished second, first, and first – with two wins in the Newbury novices. Over the distance, Whatswrongwithyou has the second-best percentage of the entire card, going three from six.
Whatswrongwithyou is the favourite coming into the race at 7/2 here, well ahead of the 11/2 second-favourite, Friday Night Light. In strong form with a great jockey riding, Whatswrongwithyou is expected to continue its strong form and make a lot of punters very happy at the Sandown 2:25.
To be considered: Call Me Lord
Another Nicky Henderson horse, Call Me Lord has some serious claim coming into the Matchbook Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle. Call Me Lord has placed in each of its last five races, coming third, first, and third since the turn of the year. It’s one of the youngest horses out there (only five years old) and is also the heaviest at 11-12.
Call Me Lord hasn’t raced a huge amount but has put in solid performances where it counts here. Over the distance, Call Me Lord is 3-6 – one of the better distance records on the track for the Imperial Cup – and is a very tasty 2-2 at the course. As the only horse coming in with a positive record at the course, Call Me Lord certainly deserves some attention at 6/1.
Tipped around: Master of Irony
Source: Ali Bahbahani, via Twitter
Master of Irony is tipped to be one of the leading contenders to win both the Imperial Cup and at the Cheltenham Festival. Given 9/1 odds, which have sharply come down from 16/1 odds, Master of Irony also has its lucky charm riding.
Richard Johnson rode Master of Irony for its last win – handicap at Wetherby two runs back. With the champion jockey riding again, there’s hope that the best can be had out of the six-year-old again. Master is 1-2 over the distance and showed off impressive speed in its last race to come fourth at Newbury.
The Imperial Cup never fails to entertain, and this year there’s a mightily crowded field. It’s going to be a thrilling race that will see a horse with nice odds come in first, second, third, and fourth – with each-way paying first to fourth.