An Afternoon At Sunny Sandown

Unfortunately we had a disappointing start to the day with the promising Monte Cassino racing below his best in the opening event at Sandown's twilight meeting but hopefully things will be on the up from here!

We have two nice chances later in the day - Cavalry Man (photo from Racing Photos) and Bancory Bay racing in the sixth and seventh races with Declan Bates and Jamie Mott taking those rides.

Having his first run since mid-December, Cavalry Man is in good order as he readies to resume over 1500m in the BM64 Stow Storage Solutions Handicap.

"He looks great," Glen said. "He didn't have a really long break so he has some residual fitness and this trip should suit him perfectly fresh."

"He has drawn well (barrier 4) and hopefully Declan can have him in a good spot. It's an even field and on the strength of his work he is right in the mix."

A half-brother to the dual Group winner Positive Peace out of the Listed winning Reset mare Warpath, the four-year-old son of So You Think kicked off his last campaign in winning form - last spring Bates teaming with him to win his maiden over a mile at Seymour.

Last start Sandown Hillside winner Bancory Bay returns to the scene of his game performance a week ago, striking a similar race.

He has 2.5kg more to carry this time but he is hard fit and going well and we are looking forward to seeing another bold showing from the promising three-year-old.

"He has been nice and bright the last few days and has been bouncing about," Glen said, "and we are happy to head back to the races with him."

"This looks to be another nice race for him and he should again prove pretty hard to beat."

"From that gate (3) he should get a similar run to last time - up on speed, hopefully giving them something to catch!"