Bet365 Gold Cup Preview & Selections

Connections of Godsmejudge are clearly cautious when it comes to only running him when at his best, giving the Aintree Grand National a miss despite being only a week off being at his peak, judging by his run 7 days later at Ayr. Last year's Scottish National put in a massive run in his bid to defend his crown in 2014 two weeks ago and this run alone would be enough for most to back him today. Considering how cautious connections are, I would think that they wouldn't run Godsmejudge unless he was completely fit and fresh, and so I'm not too worried about him running again after just 14 days. Although there's no way to know what would have happened, I think he would have put in a big race at Aintree had he been fit, and the Bet365 Gold Cup would be a fitting consolation for a horse who deserves to end the season on a high after a couple of setbacks throughout the year.

Burton Port is another we backed in the National based on his potential improvement while running off a ridiculously light weight. At his peak he was rated 166, we thought that 144 was tiny for the National - after falling early on before he had the chance to do anything right or wrong, he is now rated 141. If he does return to previous form he will have no issues running rings around the field off a very small mark. Jonjo O'Neill, as shrewd a judge as there is in racing, keeps faith in this horse by running him first in the National and then here after some below par performances. My only worry would be his age - the more experienced chasers tend not to be as successful in this race as novices or those who were novices in the past couple of seasons.

Same Difference ran a good race to come 2nd in this last year, leading over the last before losing out to Quentin Collonges on the run-in. With course and distance experience and success to his name as a result of his good run last year, as well as another year of experience, if not success, under his belt. He looked to be progressing back to old form when 5th in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham behind Spring Heeled. However, he has made mistakes jumping in just about all of his starts this year, and this could be his downfall today, but if he gets a clear round he could well run his race.

Finally, Spring Heeled won the Kim Muir at Cheltenham and I'm surprised to see that he's 14/1 for today. Although unproven over this distance, the Kim Muir is run over 3m 1 1/2 furlongs and he has shown plenty of potential for a longer trip. He should love the good ground today and all of his best form is on good ground. Although he has never run at Sandown before, he should like the track, Davy Russell is a bonus, he does well in big fields and he has overcome big odds to win in the past. He has placed 6 times from 7 runs with cheek pieces - everything seems to be in his favour tomorrow.

There are some nice prices on offer tonight, but make sure you get five places - only on offer from Bet365, SkyBet and Paddy Power at the moment. Also you should get best odds guaranteed.

So, the 1-2-3-4:

1 - Godsmejudge 12/1

2 - Spring Heeled 14/1

3 - Same Difference 10/1

4 - Burton Port 10/1

Godsmejudge is the "nap" - I'll be having more on him than the others, but it's all up to you. All four selections are each-way. Remember, 5 places.

Bet365 offer a free bet to the same stake if you back a winner at 4/1 in any Channel 4 race, best odds guaranteed in every race, and are guaranteed to march or beat the odds of Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power, Coral, Totesport and Boylesports in any Channel 4 race. On top of that, you can watch any Racing UK or At The Races race by betting 50p or 50c on the race, and they offer a matched first deposit of €200 or £200. Most importantly, they're paying 5 places on the Bet365 Gold Cup and are best odds on 3 of our 4 selections. To take advantage of these offers, sign up by clicking this link.