The bonus-chasers are out in force once again in the feature race at Sandown on Saturday, with 10 of the 17 declared runners for the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle holding an entry for at least one race at the Cheltenham festival and hoping for a chance to pick up an extra £100,000 at the season’s showpiece meeting next week.
The most likely candidates in a typically competitive renewal of the last significant event before the festival include last year’s winner, Go Dante, who has not managed to add another win to his record in six subsequent starts but looked to be working his way back to form when seventh in the valuable William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Newbury last month.
