Martin duo in Imperial Cup mix Tudor City and Golden Spear are the only Irish possibles in Saturday's Matchbook Imperial Cup at Sandown. The Tony Martin-trained duo were second and third respectively behind Ice Cold Soul in the valuable Coral.ie Hurdle at Leopardstown in January. Peace And Co has not been entered for the Imperial Cup and will head straight for the Randox Health County Handicap Hurdle. Trainer Nicky Henderson has been working his magic at home, attempting to rekindle the fire which saw the six-year-old win the 2015 Triumph Hurdle. Peace And Co has not been seen since he was pulled up in the Champion Hurdle last year, and the possibility of very testing ground at the Esher circuit means he will now chart a direct route towards the Cheltenham Festival next week. Henderson and owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede will instead be represented by Fixe Le Cap, who was eighth in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham last March when last seen on a racecourse. "The plan with Peace And Co is to go straight for the County Hurdle," said Anthony Bromley, racing manager to the owners. "Fixe Le Kap will be his replacement as he needs soft ground to be seen at his best. "In the end, we've decided we'd wait for the better ground for Peace And Co so he'll wait for Cheltenham. It was purely down to the ground. "Fixe Le Kap is in the Martin Pipe and the Coral Cup at Cheltenham as he really needs further than two miles. He might need the run on Saturday. "We just thought Sandown would suit him more. He's next year's chaser." Harry Fry's Air Horse One could go chasing a four-timer in the Imperial Cup, while William H Bonney, Vosne Romanee, Intense Tango and Bigmartre are also among the 24 entries. A bonus of 50,000 pounds will be given to any horse who can win on Saturday and then follow up at Cheltenham.
