Key Points
- Today’s betting tip should have won this race last year
- He has excuses for his last four runs and is now 3lb lower than last year
- With conditions to suit and first time cheekpieces, he looks ready to strike!
We have a cracking day of racing today, with Jumps action at Sandown, Gowran Park (IRE), Ayr, and Hereford, plus AW action at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford. But it’s in the £100,000 Imperial Cup at Sandown that you will find my NAP bet today. I think this horse is a fantastic each way bet at 9/1, especially with six places up for grabs.
If you’re here for the first time, I’m Gav, better known as RacingGav on X/Twitter. I’m the resident horse racing expert here and I publish several articles each week for this site. These are predominantly
free horse racing tips, whether that be on the day (like this one) or antepost. I also produce other types of articles such as big race trends, educational guides and more.
Every Saturday, I publish two articles, my main betting tip and a Lucky 15 with selections from the ITV Racing action, which is more for fun! This week’s
Lucky 15
has selections from Sandown and Wolverhampton and it’s already live, so make sure you take a look.
Betting advice
- 14:27 Sandown -
Wreckless Eric
@ 9/1 (6 places) -
0.75pt each way
bet365 has the best odds for Wreckless Eric!
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of 9/1 for Wreckless Eric to win the Imperial Cup. That alone is a reason to back him, but they are also offering six places too. Last but not least, bet 365 has an excellent new customer offer, which only strengthens the case. If you bet £10, you’ll get £30 of free bets. We’re just days away from the 2026 Cheltenham Festival now, so it’s a great time to load up with free bets!
Wreckless Eric can continue my fine record in this race!
In the 2024 renewal of this race, I tipped the 1-2 with Go Dante winning and Faivoir finishing second. Then last year, I tipped Wreckless Eric, but he was denied by half a length. I think he can go one better this year, and now I'll explain why I think he can win.
Wreckless Eric should have won last year’s renewal of this race
For fans of Wreckless Eric, it was a very painful experience watching last year’s Imperial Cup, especially on the home straight. Wreckless Eric travelled exceptionally well. But two out he found himself with very little room, and as they jumped, he had to swerve around a horse who hampered him.
It was a similar scenario approaching the last. Again he was short of room and unfortunately he hit the final hurdle. All of that had him on the back foot, and ultimately cost him the race. Despite running on, he was beaten by just half a length. It’s safe to say that with a clear run down the home straight this year he can win.
Last year’s winner, Go Dante, also runs here today, but there is an 8lb weight swing in our favour. I think Wreckless Eric can reverse the form with these terms.
Wreckless Eric has had excuses in his four subsequent starts and is now 3lb lower than last year
Since last year’s Imperial Cup, Wreckless Eric has run four times:
- 04/04/2025 - 12th of 20 at Aintree over 2m 4f on Good to Soft
- 20/12/2025 - 7th of 13 at Ascot over 1m 7.5f on Good to Soft
- 10/01/2026 - 9th of 15 at Kempton over 2m 5f on Good
- 07/02/2026 - 6th of 15 at Newbury over 2m 0.5f on Heavy
I feel he has excuses for all four of those runs. First up, we have Aintree, where he failed to stay the 2m 4f trip. After a 260-day break, he ran at Ascot, where his freshness and lack of race fitness meant he didn't finish as strongly as he can. He then stepped up in trip to 2m 5f in the Lanzorate Hurdle at Kempton. Again, I don’t think he stayed the trip that day, and the fact he was short of room two out didn’t help his cause. Finally, we have the Newbury run, which was on Heavy going, and he clearly hated those conditions, so I would draw a line straight through that one.
Although those four runs don't read well on papaer, as a result Wreckless Eric lines up for this £100,000 Handicap off a 3lb lower mark than last year. Even if he was running off the same mark, I’d give him a massive chance, so the fact that he carries 3lb less is a huge bonus.
With conditions to suit and first time cheekpieces, Wreckless Eric looks ready to strike!
Wreckless Eric is clearly a horse that enjoys better ground. That's backed up by his form, given that his best performance was his second place in last year's Imperial Cup, and the ground was Good to Soft that day. Similarly, his win and second place at Cheltenham in 2024 were on Good and Good to Soft ground respectively. I think he’ll be much happier back on better ground (currently Soft, Good to Soft in places, but drying out) and hopefully that is reflected in his performance today.
The ground isn’t the only positive for him. He returns to Sandown, which is clearly a track he performs on. I also find it interesting that he will wear cheekpieces for the first time today, which should help to keep him focused. In a race that's likely to be run at a lightning fast pace, the cheekpieces should help him to travel through the early stages of the race.
Can Wreckless Eric go one better in today’s Imperial Cup?
For me, the positives are overwhelming. Wreckless Eric really should have won this race last year, but he was denied due to bad luck in-running. I also believe he has excuses for his last four runs, and on the plus side, they have left him very well handicapped. Speaking of which, he is now 3lb below his mark from last year, and he looks ready to strike. Hopefully the ground will continue to dry up, in which case, he’ll love the conditions.
In terms of the negatives, he was beaten in this race last year, regardless of whether he should have been. I am also a little uneasy on the going front, as it's currently Soft, Good to Soft in places, and I’m not convinced he wants too much juice in the ground. However, according to the forecast it should be dry and breezy, so I’m hoping the ground will dry up and go in his favour.
Ultimately, at 9/1, I think it’s worth taking an each way chance on Wreckless Eric, especially with six places on offer! That said, given the couple of concerns that I do have, I have reduced the stake down to 0.75pt each way.
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