British Spot Plays: Sandown selections May 29

Except for boutique meets like Keeneland and Saratoga (which are increasingly becoming less boutique by the year), rare is it to find a graded stakes run during the week. The situation is rather different in England, where it's actually quite commonplace during the course of the flat season.

A case in point is Thursday's twilight program at Sandown, which features a pair of Group 3s and two listed stakes. While the Henry II (G3), a prep for the Gold Cup (G1) at Ascot, holds limited betting appeal, the Brigadier Gerard (G3) and the historic National S. for precocious juveniles will be targets for the resumption of our English betting bankroll.

My last play, a $22 win bet on Ruling Court ($11.70) in the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket on May 3, came through. The current balance sits at $544.50 from an original starting point of $500. I'll be making win bets equal to 5% of the outstanding balance during the course of the English flat season, which runs through late October. The first play at Sandown will be for $27.

Race 2: National S. (1:35 p.m. ET)

Trainer Karl Burke has won this five-furlong dash twice since 2017, with future Group 1 winner Havana Grey and Elite Status. #2 Clear Force could potentially be cut from the same cloth after a solid-looking maiden score at Ripon over Secret Hideaway, a filly who flattered the form a bit when posting a 33-1 upset in the Marygate S. at York in her next start.

Although listed at 5-1 on the morning line, bettors should not expect to get anything close to that. Current markets have Clear Force as the solid second choice at around 8-5—still, not a bad price on a colt who figures tough to outsprint.

Race 4: Brigadier Gerard (G3, 2:35 p.m. ET)

Godolphin seems to have this 1 1/4-mile test for older horses more or less surrounded. Current favorite Ombudsman enters undefeated and remains with massive upside, though he hasn't had a run since early September. All-weather specialist Military Order resumed winning ways last month, returning from a year-long layoff, and is the choice of jockey Will Buick.

And then there's Group 1 veteran #5 Ancient Wisdom (9-2), who at this writing has floated up to 11-1 in overseas betting. Getting ditched by Buick will do that, I guess, and he's certainly more exposed than Ombudsman.

Still, that's a tough price to pass up on a horse with his accomplishments. He's thrown only two notable clunkers in 11 starts, one being in the Derby (G1) at Epsom last summer and the other in the April 12 John Porter (G3), about which the less said, the better.

However, he rectified that season-opening run to an extent over this course and distance in the Gordon Richards (G3) two weeks later, leading for all but the last furlong when he was overtaken by the accomplished veteran Al Aasy. Behind Ancient Wisdom was returning rival Almaqam, who should come on from the run after a less-than-ideal trip, but is at a much shorter price.

Although Ancient Wisdom figures to encounter more pace here and is prone to the occasional clunker, there's nothing terribly wrong with his form overall. He's also versatile with respect to ground, though he might prefer a little more juice than he'll get on Thursday. In the round, it's simply too pessimistic to think he's incapable of beating this group if he brings his A game.