Gustavian bidding to give Honeyball another big prize

There may be no Sam Brown this year, but Badger Beers hero Gustavian leads Anthony Honeyball’s three-pronged attack on the Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Sandown on Saturday.

Honeyball’s stable stalwart Sam Brown won this event when it was rescheduled for Warwick in 2023 and went down fighting when defending his title at Market Rasen in another weather-affected year 12 months ago.

However, the baton now passes to the on-song Wincanton scorer Gustavian, who is tasked with raising his game once again after a bold show of front-running at Wincanton in early November.

Honeyball said: “He put in a personal best in the Badger Beer and he probably had a hard enough race despite winning so easily, so we took the view we would lay him out for this with him having qualified.

“I’m very happy with him, he looks good and he schooled well in the week. He won well on good ground at Wincanton going right-handed and it is going to be similar at Sandown, if not riding a little bit dead.

“He seems to enjoy a bit of nice ground as well as being versatile, so maybe that helps his jumping as he jumped superbly at Wincanton and we’re hoping for a repeat sort of performance from him.

“He is young at heart and has plenty of spirit in him and if he gets going forward in a good jumping rhythm, then he could prove hard to beat.”

Gustavian is joined in the line-up by Credo who was third behind her stablemate at Wincanton before finishing fourth at Ascot last time out, while Blackjack Magic is also engaged on his return from the best part of a year off the track.

On Credo’s chances, Honeyball added: “She will be there in the pack stalking away and it will set up well for her if there is a nice gallop on up front. She can do her usual thing of sit where she is happy and creep away.

“We’ve put a visor back on and how much difference that really makes I don’t know, but we always thought we’d keep the visor back for this race as she won two veterans’ qualifiers last season.

“It will be opposite tactics to Gustavian so they won’t get in each others way and in fact, Gustavian will help Credo while doing what he enjoys doing.

“I think she has a really nice chance and she has quite a good habit, when the chance is there, of knowing where the lollipop is.”

Copperhead broke the hearts of the Honeyball team 12 months ago and although seen just the once so far this season when down the field at Cheltenham, Joe Tizzard’s 12-year-old is back to defend his crown at a venue where he has winning form.

Tizzard said: “He had a couple of issues last spring and he was late enough getting going, but he needed the run at Cheltenham and I was pleased with that.

“He seems in lovely form and it’s going to be a tougher race this year and harder for him, but he goes there with a run under his belt which is good.”