totescoop6 Hurdle betting tips

There is no doubt that Taranis is a potential handicap blot in the totescoop6 Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday. Paul Nicholls' charge, who is a 7/2 chance with Totesport and VCbet at the time of writing, is able to race off a mark 20lb lower than the chase rating off which he was beaten five lengths into third place behind Exotic Dancer at Cheltenham in December. However, I've seen these handicap 'good things' turned over too many times to be to dogmatic about the six-year-old winning this competitive heat, despite his rock-solid form. Instead, I'm going to side with Royals Darling, who hails from the bang in-form Nicky Henderson yard and makes for an appealing betting proposition at 11/2 with totesport. The selection was having his first run for almost 10 months when making Verasi pull out all the stops in the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton last month, proving in the process that this sort of trip is well within his stamina range. That was a cracking effort considering the strength of that race, and the fact that Royals Darling travels so well and is so slick at his hurdles is a huge plus. It shouldn't be forgotten that Nicky Henderson's charge twice chased home top hurdler Detroit City in novice contests last season, including when chasing Philip Hobbs' grey home in a well-contested heat at this meeting last year. With improvement likely to be forthcoming following his reappearance and - off just a 4lb higher mark today - Royals Darling looks the one to be on. Lord Sam looked as though he was cooked two out in a qualifying race at Wincanton last time out, but the Victor Dartnall-trained gelding rallied under pressure and eventually got up to beat Lyes Green by three parts of a length. A 6lb rise looks about right and while this is much tougher, the 11-year-old will appreciate the likely strong pace and should be thereabouts at the finish. French raider Kasbah Bliss has been in good form in high grade races in his native land and will have been freshened up following a mini break since November. The five-year-old is open to plenty of improvement and merits plenty of respect. However, along with Jonjo O'Neill's Refinement, he looks plenty high enough in the weights and, therefore, one suspects that at least one or two will prove to be better handicapped on the day. Material World appears to have been laid out for this since scoring at Cheltenham in December so has to enter the reckoning, while recent chase winner Whispered Secret would be of interest if reverting to the smaller obstacles off a potentially lenient mark and Accordello is lightly raced and at the right end of the handicap, a remark which also applies to Julius Caesar, who shaped as though recapturing his form when third behind Rowley Hill at Warwick on January 13. Verdict - 2pts Royals Darling @ 11/2 (totesport and VCbet)