The Scotsman

Haggas colt in the Pink as Sandown sprint track looks ideal

- By NICK GRANT

Pink Sands looks one of the better bets on the card at Sandown, where she runs in the Weybridge Handicap.

The lightly-raced William Haggas-trainedthr­ee-year-old returned from an absence of more than a year when third at Yarmouth last month, in what might well turn out to have been a useful novice contest.

The No Nay Never filly broke well alongside eventual winner Silver Machine and was just caught for second close home by stablemate Praised, who finished with a rare rattle from the rear.

The first three are of definite promise and Pink Sands is perfectly entitled to have needed it, having been off since her maiden win at Ripon in June last year, when she had subsequent Lowther winner Living In The Past back in third.

The sixth furlong at the track might even have stretched her a bit, too, so the return to the minimum trip aligned to the nature of the Sandown sprint track might prove ideal.

Newmarket-based Yorkshirem­an Haggas could bag another with Star Of Wins in the Cobham Handicap.

Unraced at two, he finished mid-division first time up at Newmarketa­ndcameforw­ard from that to just fail at Bath, where he might have bumped into one in the shape of Sir Mark Prescott’s A La Voile, who has won again since.

Stepped up a quarter of a mile at Windsor, the Haggas runner duly won with a bit to spare and he should have more to give sent handicappi­ng for the first time off a mark of 82.

Meanwhile, today’s meeting at Hamilton has been abandoned due to areas of false ground.

An inspection was called for 2pm yesterday at the Scottish venue after 54 millimetre­s of rain in the space of 48 hours left the course unraceable.

Clerk of the course Harriet Graham confirmed a little earlier than the planned inspection time that the fixture would not go ahead as scheduled.

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