Medici among Sandown entries Sempre Medici has been entered for the Betfred-sponsored Contenders Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday. Trained by Willie Mullins and owned by Rich Ricci, the six-year-old was a comfortable winner of the Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas last month and is one of nine possible runners. Peace And Co is the stand-out name at the Esher circuit. The Nicky Henderson-trained five-year-old will be aiming to put the first defeat of his career behind him, when he ran far too keenly in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance. Winner of the Triumph Hurdle last year, he is the shortest price of all the British-trained contenders for the Champion Hurdle at the Festival in March. Peace And Co was due to run at Haydock against The New One two weeks ago but missed the race at the 11th hour. Henderson told At The Races: "He goes to Sandown on Saturday, we hope, without a hiccup this time. It was very minimal what forced us out of Haydock, I'd have loved to have run there. It was going to be bad ground but I'm afraid it's not going to be much better at Sandown. "He's back moving really well again, he's perfectly OK. He must have pulled a muscle in his back - we all do it - and he moved badly for about three or four days." Cappielow Park, Exitas, Kayf Blanco, Rayvin Black, Slowfoot, Wilde Blue Yonder and Connetable complete the list.
