Nico de Boinville: “We are looking forward to taking the wraps off Shishkin”

12:00 Sandown

Immortal

He was due to make his debut for us at Ascot a fortnight ago, but he was withdrawn due to the ground. I imagine there will be plenty of ease in it here, though. We have been very pleased with what we have seen of him at home and hopefully he will give a good account of himself, though the experience of a race will obviously not be lost on him as he makes his debut. Authorised Speed sets a pretty high standard for us to aim at, too.

13:10 Sandown

Scarpia

He is versatile as regards trip and ground – I won on him over 2m1f at Fontwell last season – but he his best effort for us came when making all over 3m1f at Plumpton. He is fairly handicapped if returning to that form and he ran well first time out at Ascot last season, too. And hopefully a wind op has helped him, too.

14:55 Sandown

Shishkin

In one way it was good that something physical came to light after his run in the Champion Chase as that was simply too bad to be true. Way too bad. I was not happy with him at any stage, but that underlines the highs and lows of racing, I guess. We know what a brilliant horse he is if we can get him back on song – that Clarence House defeat of Energumene tells you everything you need to know about not only his talent, but also his heart and fight – and we are looking forward to taking the wraps off him.  Of course, you never really know until they race again but he has clearly been delighting us. If the team are happy with the ground, then it’ll be a great thrill to get on him in a race again as these are the days we live for. Hopefully, he enjoys his first experience of Sandown, as we know his main rivals, Greaneteen and Edwardstone, love it!