The Punt Acca: Charlie Huggins' three horse racing tips at Sandown on Friday

Charlie HugginsReporter

Three horses to include in a multiple on Friday . . .

Aesterius (2.30 Sandown)

Cost £380,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up sales in April and made a successful debut the following month. The sixth from that Bath novice event, Ardennes, has landed a 12-runner event at Salisbury since. Aesterius performed with credit at Royal Ascot when finishing fifth behind the fellow Wathnan Racing-owned Shareholder in the Norfolk Stakes. Wathnan's retained jockey James Doyle opted to ride the winner, so although Aesterius went off a shorter price, the two juveniles finished in the order that connections expected. Aesterius was beaten only a short-head by Whistlejacket, the ante-post talking horse of the royal meeting, and that form should be good enough to take this Listed contest.

Equilateral (3.05 Sandown)

The nine-year-old has won all three of his starts in handicap company, therefore has to be of interest as he drops back to that sphere here. Equilateral is rated 1lb lower than when he won a 19-runner heritage handicap at York's Ebor meeting last season, proving he is more than capable of shouldering top weight in these valuable events. The son of Equiano has form at the highest level in the book, most notably when chasing home Battaash in the 2020 King's Stand Stakes and he also finished runner-up to subsequent Group 1 winner Regional in a Haydock Listed race in June last year. He may be good enough to concede upwards of 10lb all round here.

Lion's Pride (4.15 Sandown)

The form of his seasonal debut third could not have worked out any better as the winner, Dubai Honour, has subsequently landed the the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. The runner-up, Okeechobee, won a Sandown Group 3 on his sole start since and even Lion's Pride's juvenile form last season now reads exceptionally well. The four-year-old beat subsequent Listed and Group 3 winner Middle Earth by three lengths on his reappearance at Kempton last season before accounting for future Group 1 Jebel Hatta and Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes scorer Measured Time and Royal Ascot winner Belloccio at the same track in November. He is yet to win on turf, but this looks an excellent opportunity to prove he can do it away from Kempton.

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