Totescoop6 Stakes at Sandown Betting Preview

Prince Of Light will be an outstanding value bet at 16/1 with Ladbrokes if he goes to post for the totescoop6 Stakes at Sandown on Saturday. At this stage, connections are undecided whether to run him in this valuable handicap over a mile, or step him up to a mile and a quarter in a Listed contest at the Esher track on Friday. Hopefully they will opt for Saturday's race. The son of Fantastic Light was making his seasonal reappearance when running Librettist to a length and a quarter in a Listed event at Windsor and while the winner was value for more than the bare margin, it was a cracking effort on Prince Of Light's part considering that he was taking on a race-fit, older rival who is considered to be Group 1 class by connections. Indeed, the next stop for Librettist is the Sussex Stakes. The selection proved to be a very smart juvenile last season, progressing with racing and landing an ultra-competitive nursery at York, the form of which, has worked out extremely well, before winning a Group 3 at Newmarket. His final start of his two-year-old campaign back at that Suffolk venue in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes is best forgotten, as the soft ground was against him and he was later said to have returned 'very foot sore'. Mark Johnston's charge is clearly better than handicap class even as things stand so the fact that he is open to any amount of improvement having had just six career starts to date makes him all the more appealing in a race of this nature off a rating of 109. He is rated 3lb superior to St Andrews, the allotted top weight for this race carrying 9st 10lb, but because of the weight-for-age allowance he will actually be receiving 6lb from the top-weight. Obviously, despite the fact that he is a Group-class performer, it's still a big ask for a relatively inexperienced horse to beat seasoned, battle-hardened campaigners. However, as we have seen with Johnston horses over the years, they are nothing if not tenacious. And with the combination of fast ground and a strongly-run race over a mile on a stiff track appearing to be tailor made for Prince Of Light, he simply must be backed. Whether he runs or not, it's worth having a saver on another 16/1 shot (bet365), the Mick Channon-trained Capable Guest, who hasn't had the rub of the green in his races so far this season but is in good form and looks sure to land a nice prize before long. The four-year-old son of Cape Cross lost his way last season but has returned to the fray rejuvinated for a 2006 campaign. Having won a competitive heat on the All Weather at Lingfield in February, Capable Guest has since contested four top class handicaps and circumstances have conspired against him on every occasion. The ground was too soft for him in the Lincoln at Redcar, yet he still managed to finish just over four lengths third to Blythe Knight in a race where very few landed a blow. Subsequently, he has been beaten by the draw in two starts on either side of a seventh-placed finish behind Minority Report at Thirsk, an effort which is best overlooked as he met with trouble in running and wasn't knocked about when it was obvious that his chance had gone. Like Prince Of Light, Capable Guest will relish the prevailing conditions and with any number of horses in the field that like to race prominently, this race could be set up for a strong finisher like Mick Channon's charge. Royal Hunt Cup winner Cesare is a live danger. James Fanshawe's stable continues in great form and he proved when landing that Royal Ascot cavalry charge that he doesn't need give underfoot to fire. However, there wasn't much of a pace on that day and the way things panned out played to his strengths. Off an 8lb higher mark now, I reckon he's worth opposing. A number of those prominent in the betting for this appear as though they would prefer genuine good ground as opposed to the fast surface they are likely to encounter here. Hinterland and Pinpoint, fourth and sixth respectively in the Hunt Cup, fall into that category along with Military Cross, Trafalgar Square and Luca Cumani's interesting French import, Seulement. Verdict - 0.50pts Prince Of Light @ 16/1 (Ladbrokes) & 0.50pts Capable Guest @ 16/1 (bet365)