Cobo Bay in charge

10:39am Friday 25th April 2008

COBO BAY can take the honours at Sandown this afternoon by showing his rivals a clean pair of heels to lift the Esher Cup.

Kevin Ryan's hugely progressive three-year-old made a sensational return to action in a race at Ripon which on paper looked fiendishly hard.

But Cobo Bay (1.15) wasn't in the mood to take prisoners, slipping smoothly out of the stalls like a dark destroyer to make every yard of the running.

Not one of his six rivals was within sniffing distance of the selection come the end of the of the contest, made all more impressive by the fact he was carrying top-weight.

Today's opposition is certainly tougher, however Ryan's raider is a real street fighter, just the type to keep rolling when others no longer have the stomach for battle.

The following Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes features another recent Ripon winner, Championship Point, a big brute of a colt with an engine to match.

Also successful at Royal Ascot in 2007 when taking the Listed Wolverton Stakes, Mick Channon's five-year-old is now ready for even greater glory.

Generally handled to perfection by Darryll Holland, I suspect it'll be game set and match to Championship Point (1.50) when they cross the finishing line.

Number-crunching is very much part of a the canny punter's armoury and even though Fol Hollow was third at Newmarket, he came out as the best horse in the race.

Giving 8lbs to the first two home in that Class 2 Handicap, but only beaten around a half-length, at level weights he would have been the clear-cut winner.

Unpenalized for that tremendous effort in the Bet365 Handicap, Fol Hollow (2.25) could well bring the money back to North Yorkshire for David and Adrian Nicholls.

Another traveller from the region in with a terrific shout is Captain Webb (4.10), attempting to protect his unbeaten record by snapping up the finale.

Although Mark Johnston's son of Storming Home is going to go off at short price, there'll still be plenty wanting to get on after his most recent Brighton romp.

Wide-margin winners are always of major interest to the serious investor, so the fact Captain Webb scored by 20 lengths will strike fear into the bookies' hearts.

The near four-mile Press & Journal Highland National Handicap at Perth features plenty of genuine sluggers, including marathon merchant, Laertes (4.35).

Although patently not so good over fences, his chase mark, which is a collosal 29lbs lower then his hurdles rating, gives Laertes a significant head start over his rivals.

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