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Across Earth at Sandown, Gentleman Toboot at Exeter and Bo Cruz at Sedgefield – Friday Fancies You Should Not Ignore
Friday 5th December brings a busy jumps card with compelling opportunities at Sandown, Exeter and Sedgefield. Below you will find our top four selections for the day, built on current form, trainer intent and suitability to race conditions.
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Across Earth is the headline pick and forms the main anchor for today’s staking plan, with three strong supporting fancies in Gentleman Toboot, Bathgate and Bo Cruz. Taken together, these selections present a balanced spread of relatively progressive types and well treated handicappers, giving punters a structured approach to today’s racing rather than a scattergun list of names.
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Rationale: Across Earth shaped like a well handicapped hurdler at Hereford and lost little in defeat at Kempton despite racing too freely. A stronger gallop at Sandown should help him settle, and being slightly well in at the weights adds to his appeal in a track that rewards stamina and determination.
Summary: Improving handicap hurdler with form, fitness and track suitability on his side → Across Earth to win.
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Rationale: Gentleman Toboot progressed from point to point and bumpers into a smooth hurdle winner at Newton Abbot, beating a rival who has advertised the form. Dropping in trip at stiff Exeter should still suit his staying strengths. With scope to improve and a penalty that may not stop him, he looks very strong.
Summary: Progressive hurdler with strong bumper and debut hurdle form in a winnable race → Gentleman Toboot to win.
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Rationale: Bathgate almost landed a higher grade Market Rasen contest and now steps back into calmer waters at Sedgefield, a track where he has already won over course and distance. Running off the same mark but effectively better off through a jockey claim, he holds obvious claims if reproducing that recent effort.
Summary: Proven course scorer dropping in grade with a useful claim and strong recent run → Bathgate to win.
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Rationale: Bo Cruz, bred for staying chases, has shown sufficient promise in points and hurdles to suggest fences will bring improvement. He joins a novice handicap for an in form Donald McCain yard, with Theo Gillard riding confidently. If his jumping holds up, his latent ability can shine through in this field.
Summary: Chasing type from an in form yard stepping into his ideal discipline → Bo Cruz to win.
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Across Earth arrives with handicapping room, strong recent form and ideal conditions at Sandown, while Gentleman Toboot looks a cut above his opposition after a decisive hurdle debut. Linking them in a double combines two upwardly mobile types from capable yards, offering appealing potential returns without resorting to speculative long shots.
- Four headline tips across three tracks: Sandown, Exeter and Sedgefield.
- Two selections, Across Earth and Gentleman Toboot, have won already this season and still look ahead of the handicapper.
- Bathgate returns to his favourite Sedgefield trip effectively better treated than when narrowly denied in a stronger race.
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Across Earth (3.30 Sandown)
Race: 3.30 Sandown – Handicap hurdle
Rationale:
Across Earth returns to Sandown with an appealing profile for this type of stiff, testing track. The four year old is in the care of Gary and Josh Moore, a team well known for improving young hurdlers through the season and placing them cleverly in handicaps. He scored in style at Hereford two runs ago, travelling sweetly and then picking up strongly when asked to settle the race. That performance confirmed he has the engine to cope with a decent tempo and the attitude to finish his race off when pressure is applied.
Last time at Kempton he finished third and, while that may appear slightly underwhelming at first glance, the run can be upgraded. He raced far too keenly in the early stages, using up more energy than ideal. Kempton’s sharper nature also does not play to the strengths of a horse who seems happiest when allowed to creep into a race rather than sprint away from it. Despite that, he still stuck to his task and was only beaten by rivals who had enjoyed more economical journeys.
A stronger pace today is likely to help him relax, as a truly run handicap can settle keen horses by giving them something to aim at instead of leaving them dossing in slowly run contests. Across Earth is also described as being one pound well in, which means his official rating suggests he is slightly better than the mark he runs from today. In handicaps, that kind of small advantage is often decisive when the field is tightly matched.
Sandown’s uphill finish and demanding layout place emphasis on staying power and mental resilience. Across Earth has already shown he can find more once challenged, which is precisely the trait required to see off rivals on this track’s rising run to the line. The fact that he has already won this season is another positive, as recent success often boosts confidence for young horses, encouraging them to respond when asked for maximum effort.
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The Moore yard frequently targets these types of middle distance handicaps with progressive four year olds, and the Hereford victory suggested connections have always believed he had more improvement to come. Now returning to a scenario where a strong gallop is likely and with conditions that should favour a horse with his blend of pace and stamina, he appears set to step forward again.
Tactically, he is versatile enough to sit just behind the front rank or be held up off the speed, which gives his rider options depending on how the race unfolds. If the leaders go hard early, he can be switched off and produced late; if the pace is more controlled than expected, he has the ability to move closer and apply pressure before the final bend. That adaptability is a subtle but important asset in competitive handicaps.
With a recent solid run under his belt, an advantageous position on the handicap scale and a course that should play to his strengths, Across Earth makes a very solid case as the main selection for today’s card. He may still have a little more to learn, yet the signs so far point towards a young hurdler quietly on the rise rather than one anchored by the assessor.
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Gentleman Toboot (12:48 Exeter)
Race: Gentleman Toboot – 12.48 Exeter, Novices’ Hurdle
Rationale:
Gentleman Toboot has done little wrong in his career so far and looks an ideal type for a demanding track like Exeter. Successful in his sole point to point, he then announced himself under rules with a dominant bumper win, stretching clear by a wide margin at Fontwell. That display hinted at both stamina and a serious engine.
He encountered a smart rival from a strong yard on his next bumper start, so that defeat can be forgiven. More importantly, he improved again when sent over hurdles at Newton Abbot, where he justified market support in convincing fashion. He did not always meet his obstacles perfectly in the straight, which actually adds encouragement because he still had enough in hand to move away from a rival who has since franked the form.
The phrase “future chaser” often signals a robust type with scope to keep progressing as distances increase, and Gentleman Toboot fits that description. Dropping back in trip today should not be an issue, as he has shown the pace to travel easily in his races, and the uphill finish at Exeter will still draw out his stamina late on. With a penalty to defy yet bags of potential still untapped, he remains a very attractive proposition in this grade.
Bathgate (13:33 Sedgefield)
Race: Bathgate – 13.33 Sedgefield, Handicap hurdle
Rationale:
Bathgate comes here just a day after a narrow defeat at Market Rasen, and that recent effort positions him extremely well for this lower grade assignment. He is already a course and distance winner at Sedgefield over two miles and one furlong, which removes a lot of guesswork regarding track suitability. Horses who have previously handled Sedgefield’s undulations and relatively sharp layout often hold an edge over newcomers.
He was beaten only a neck in a stronger Class 4 contest and now drops into a Class 5 event off the same rating. On top of that, his rider Joe Williamson is able to claim three pounds today, a useful allowance he could not utilise in the conditional jockeys’ race at Market Rasen. Viewed through that lens, Bathgate is effectively better off at the weights in an easier race.
Given his proven liking for the course, recent form and more favourable conditions, he makes strong appeal as a well treated runner who should be very competitive if turning out in similar heart.
Bo Cruz (14:08 Sedgefield)
Race: Bo Cruz – 14.08 Sedgefield, Novice handicap chase
Rationale:
Bo Cruz makes his chasing debut for Donald McCain in a novice handicap that looks ripe for an improving type to seize. By top class sire Doyen, he brings a staying pedigree and the frame of a horse likely to relish fences rather than feel intimidated by them.
His two point to point runs, including a respectable second, already showed he can cope with larger obstacles, while five hurdle starts have revealed steady ability and a willingness to keep finding. Connections appear to have decided that fences are his long term game, and the yard’s excellent recent strike rate reinforces the idea that the team believes he is ready to progress.
Rider Theo Gillard is also in good form, and that combination of an in form stable and jockey often proves decisive in these novice handicaps. Provided he adapts smoothly to the course and maintains a solid jumping rhythm, Bo Cruz has every chance of outclassing rivals who have either shown less or appear more exposed.
🧪 Daily Super Double
For today’s Daily Super Double, we combine:
- Across Earth to win – 3.30 Sandown
- Gentleman Toboot to win – 12.48 Exeter
This pair links a progressive handicap hurdler with a highly promising novice, giving a blend of solidity and upside in a compact two leg bet.
Super Double rationale:
Across Earth arrives with handicapping room, strong recent form and ideal conditions at Sandown, while Gentleman Toboot looks a cut above his opposition after a decisive hurdle debut. Linking them in a double combines two upwardly mobile types from capable yards, offering appealing potential returns without resorting to speculative long shots.
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