A sensationally good season may get better for Philip Hobbs with For Good Measure (3.10) in the Imperial Cup at Sandown, the highlight of the last Saturday before the Cheltenham Festival. I did wonder, as Hobbs enjoyed 19 winners in November and 20 in December, whether the yard form might have hit the buffers by this stage of the season but it seems not and in any case it looks rather as though For Good Measure has been saved for this target for months.
A full brother to the Hobbs-trained Balthazar King, For Good Measure is currently rated 23lb below his sibling and has plenty of scope to do better, judged on his two ready handicap successes in December. Those were on heavy going, which he gets again here. It would not be surprising if Hobbs had decided to pause his career at that point with this contest in mind. The trainer won the Imperial Cup six years ago with a handicap blot in Qaspal, who also carried the JP McManus colours.
Hobbs, for what it is worth, is winning handicap hurdles at a rate of 30% this season, more than twice his usual percentage in such races.
2.00 Sandown: Alcala could really do with better ground than he will get here but he looks well treated and may be able to show it after a comfortable win at Fontwell last month in a novice event. He was disappointing in a handicap on Boxing Day but the Paul Nicholls yard is in much better shape now than it was then.
2.15 Wolverhampton: This is the best race Intrude has tackled but David Simcock’s four-year-old is unexposed, progressive and a specialist at this track, where he is two from two. For that reason, I am able to overlook his two flops at Lingfield in January. He is a full brother to the Group Three winner Tell Dad.
2.35 Sandown: It is hard to have much belief in most of the runners on offer here but Benenden appears to be going the right way, having scored on only his second attempt over fences at Musselburgh in January.
2.50 Wolverhampton: It might be that all-weather racing is a good option for Mister Universe, who showed talent but achieved a low strike-rate on turf last summer, when he was quite highly tried. Back from a break, he scored at Lingfield last month in his first race on an artificial surface. He made all but does not have to race that way.
3.45 Sandown: Copper Kay was unlucky in running when fourth in this last year on only her second start. Her form in the autumn showed she had taken a big step forward and she will be hard to beat here if able to cope with the heavy going.
