Olden Times topweight at Sandown

Olden Times must defy top weight of 132 pounds if he is to win the Group 2 Sandown Mile at Sandown Park on Saturday.

The highest-rated horse in the field will be spotting his rivals six to nine pounds because of the penalty he carries for having won the 1 1/8-mile Group 1 Prix Jean Prat last June. A son of Darshaan trained by John Dunlop, Olden Times has since finished third or fourth in three Group 1 miles, but the testing Sandown mile, with its four-furlong uphill stretch, should be right up his alley. Pat Eddery has the ride.

Cape Town and Swallow Flight, both top-class milers at their best, will have that six-pound pull in the weights, while Golden Silca, coming off a fourth-place finish in the Dubai Duty Free, receives nine pounds from Olden Times for red-hot trainer Mick Channon.

Francois Doumen has named Thierry Thulliez to ride his French invader, Peppercorn. A full brother to German juvenile champion Peppershot, Peppercorn was trained in Germany last year, where his last two starts were victories in one-mile events at the Group 3 level.