Balding targets Imperial rule

Andrew Balding breathed a sigh of relief after Albinus crept into the Sunderlands Imperial Cup at Sandown.

Formerly smart on the Flat, the seven-year-old won cosily at Doncaster in January and was declared as number 23 in a maximum field of 24 for Saturday’s valuable handicap.

Balding said: “I’m looking forward to it and I’m just very pleased that he got in as it was looking odds-against earlier in the week.

“The horse is in good shape, looks fairly handicapped and I’m hopeful of a good run from him.

“It’s been the plan to run here since he won his last race but we’ve just been in the lap of the Gods a bit as to whether we’d get in. Happily, we’re there.

“It’s a tougher test but he’s spot-on and he was a classy horse on the Flat.”

Any horse that wins the Imperial Cup and scores again at the Cheltenham Festival the following week will secure a £75,000 bonus, as Gaspara did 12 months ago.

However, Albinus will not attempt to snatch that tantalising sum – whatever happens at the weekend.

Balding continued: “We made the mistake of going for it with Scorned a few years ago (2004).

“He won the Imperial Cup and then went to Cheltenham and it finished him really, so we’ll just make Saturday the priority and not worry about anything else.”