Sandown Park Tips: Chorister to hit the high notes

Thursday's racing schedule in Britain and Ireland comprises six meetings, with four on the Flat and two over jumps. The highlight will come via the evening card at Sandown, where they race from 18.07-20.42.

A quality offering includes the Listed National Stakes and Heron Stakes, plus the Group 3 Henry II Stakes and the Brigadier Gerard Stakes - and I've got a selection of Sandown Park tips for you to consider.

19:07 - Caius Chorister @ 5/2

The Group 3 Henry II Stakes is a thorough stamina test over 2m around Sandown and will see CAIUS CHORISTER re-engaging with Sweet William and Trueshan following their efforts at Ascot in the Sagaro Stakes this month. 

The once-mighty Trueshan didn't look himself there, following his latest wind op, and was well off the pace come the finishing line, while Sweet William had every chance from the furlong pole but didn't find as much as the Gosden team might have hoped. 

That left him in third, behind close second Caius Chorister, and the David Menuisier runner can hold up that form now. She was only beaten a head by Coltrane, a fine effort based on ratings, and produced a career-best effort on that first attempt at this trip. 

She is effective on varying ground and the daughter of Golden Horn represents a trainer with a 22 per cent strike-rate at this course. 

19:37 – Isle Of Jura @ 5/1 

Royal Rhyme will be expected to land this for Karl Burke and is entitled to improve again as a four-year-old but he needed his comeback run last season and his best form has come with give in the ground, so there are reasons to be wary of the short-price jolly. 

ISLE OF JURA is another progressive sort for George Scott. He readily won handicaps at Newbury and Newmarket (both 1m, good) last summer before a midfield finish at Haydock in September in a contest that became something of a sprint. 

A productive winter/spring campaign saw him post figures of 12111 in Bahrain, most recently winning the Listed Al Khalifa Cup over 1m4f in March. 

This drop in trip is of no concern and Callum Shepherd's mount has a major chance of turning over the favourite. 

20:42 – Dual Identity @ 5/1

The closing contest is the Horse Kick Cider Whitsun Cup Handicap over a mile and it's a competitive event with a field of 12 declared. 

Cases can be made for a few, but DUAL IDENTITY makes plenty of appeal for trainer William Knight. He's a dual winner over 1m2f here and has form figures of 121 in his last three visits, his only defeat a narrow one behind an in-form rival in August 2022. 

He won by more than four lengths here in September, and while ideally he wants further than a mile, this might play to his strengths if they get racing early. He should be sharper for his comeback at Epsom last month and has sound claims under Neil Callan.