The valuable Imperial Cup card at Sandown on Saturday afternoon is subject to an 8am morning inspection after nearly an inch of rain since Tuesday, with Andrew Cooper, the clerk of the course, describing the situation as “difficult” on Friday, “with challenges on potentially two fronts as we’re also forecast a sudden, sharp frost tonight”.
If the elements are kind, however, there is an excellent pre-Cheltenham card in prospect, with an 18-runner field declared for the William Hill Imperial Cup, which offers a £100,000 bonus if the winner can follow up at Cheltenham next week.
