UK Horse Racing Tips

Several racecourses in Britain have a five-furlong course that is described as ‘one of the fastest in the country’ but, by definition, the fastest course must be the one that has covered in the fastest time. That honour goes to Epsom Downs, whose five-furlong course is downhill virtually throughout and was covered, on June 2, 2012, by Stone Of Folca, trained by John Best, in a time of 53.69 seconds.

The 4-year-old, who carried 8st 12lb to victory, averaged just shy of 42 miles per hour and beat the previous record, set by Spark Chief – another 4-year-old, but carrying just 7st 12lb – on August 30, 1983, by 0.01 seconds. That said, the fastest time ever over the five-furlong course at Epsom Downs was 53.60 seconds, recorded by Indigenous on June 2, 1960, 52 years to the day before Stone Of Folca. However, Indigenous was hand-timed and therefore considered to have been flattered, by several tenths of a second, when compared with the later, electronically-timed records.

So, Epsom Downs is officially the fastest five-furlong course in Britain, but how do the other ‘fastest’ courses compare, in terms of record times? The five-furlong course at Goodwood is, like Epsom Downs, downhill most of the way and the venue for the Group Two King George Stakes in July or early August each year. Indeed, it was in that race the Rudi’s Pet, a 5-year-old trained by the late David ‘Dandy’ Nicholls – aptly known as ‘The Sprint King’ – set the current course record, of 56.01 seconds, on July 27, 1999.

North of the border, the five-furlong course at Musselburgh is flat, with slight undulations and even a gentle rise throughout the final furlong or so, but is, nonetheless, the venue for the Scottish Sprint Cup, run in June each year. Billed as ‘Scotland’s Fastest Race’ and worth £100,000 in prize money, the Scottish Sprint Cup regularly attracts some of the fastest horses in Britain, a fact reflected by the fact that the course record, of 56.77 seconds, was set by Caspian Prince, a 9-year-old trained by Michael Appleby, as recently as June 9, 2018. Ironically, Caspian Prince has won the ‘Epsom Dash’ – the race in which Stone Of Folca set the world record for five furlongs in 2012 – three times, in 2014, 2016 and 2017, but his fastest winning time was 54.75 seconds, in 2014.

Staying in the north, in North Yorkshire in fact, Catterick is an exceedingly sharp track, with a five-furlong course that starts quite steeply downhill and continues downhill throughout. However, the most valuable race of the season, the ‘Catterick Dash’, is run in October each year, when going conditions are rarely, if ever, conducive to lightening-fast times. That may account for the fact that the course record, of 57.10 seconds, set by Kabcast, a 4-year-old trained by the late David Chapman – who made all under 9st 8lb – on July 6, 1989, still stands nearly three decades later.

The finest trainers, jockeys and horses in the National Hunt scene will descend upon Cheltenham to vie for glory from 10-13 March. There will be around £4.5 million in prize money up for grabs, and the prestige associated with winning there is huge, so jumps racing fans can look forward to some exciting contests. The ante post betting action will ramp up significantly in the weeks ahead, and these are the key runners to consider:

Lostintranslation

Colin Tizzard’s eight-year-old announced himself as a force to be reckoned with when he surged to victory in the Betfair Chase back in November. It was his third win in a row and it followed a superb performance in the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

He went off as the heavily backed 15/8 second favourite for the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, but jockey Robbie Power was forced to pull him up. The jockey said he felt flat and struggled with his jumping, but Lostintranslation has since had his palate cauterised and Tizzard is upbeat about his chances of success at Cheltenham.

Lostintranslation will now go straight to Cheltenham for the Gold Cup without a prep race. He should be nice and fresh for the big race and the price on him may drift in the weeks ahead. He is currently around the 7/1 mark, and that makes him a great each-way option for the Gold Cup. Tizzard is optimistic that he can draw a line under that lacklustre performance in the King George, and Lostintranslation is perfectly capable of showing his rivals a clean set of heels in March.

Tiger Roll

The legendary Tiger Roll will bid for a third consecutive Cross Country Chase victory at Cheltenham this year. It will be an important stepping stone en route to Aintree, where he will aim to secure an unprecedented third straight triumph in the Grand National.

Tiger Roll is generally the smallest horse in the field – dubbed “a little rat of a thing by owner Michael O’Leary, the Ryanair boss – but he has the heart of a lion. He has consistently proven his stamina, determination and ability to thrive over an epic trip, and he will be one of the most popular selections among the punters at Cheltenham.

He is now nine years old and he has not raced since last year’s Grand National, so it will be interesting to see how he fares on his seasonal reappearance. Trainer Gordon Elliott has reported that Tiger Roll looks to be in good shape and that he will bid to win both the Cross Country Chase and the Grand National again.

He is out at 7/4 with some bookmakers to win the Cross Country and that looks like an attractive ante post price, as none of his rivals stand out.

Envoi Allen

Envoi Allen is the top dog at Elliott’s stable after winning all seven races in his thus far unblemished career. That included victory in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham last year.

The six-year-old has established himself as the standout novice hurdler in Ireland. In December he won the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse, vanquishing the highly rated Abacadabras in the process, and then he seized a comfortable victory in the Grade 1 Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle earlier this month. That was his first run over 2 and a half miles, and he enjoyed the trip, while he has taken to hurdling beautifully this term.

He has options at Cheltenham, and connections are not ruling out a crack at the Champion Hurdle, while he could alternatively run in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle if the camp decides to come back in trip. Yet the most realistic destination would be the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, and it is easy to see him beating the likes of Thyme Hill and The Big Breakaway to clinch victory in that race.

Paisley Park

Paisley Park’s victory in last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle was enough to warm even the hardest of hearts. Owner Andrew Gemmell was born blind, so he has never actually witnessed a race, but his love of the sport is intense and he was overjoyed to take in Paisley Park’s victory.

The horse also nearly died from a bad illness, so it was a great underdog story. Last year, Gemmell backed him at 33/1 to win the race. This time around he will be the clear favourite.

He won his seasonal reappearance over 3 miles in the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, extending his winning streak to six races. He is the one to beat in this race and it is hard to see any horse preventing Paisley Park from defending his crown.

Esprit Du Large

This underrated five-year-old from the Evan Williams stable looks like a really tempting each-way option for the Arkle Novices’ Chase. Check out the useful information at http://blog.marathonbet.co.uk/how-to-bet-on-horse-racing/ to learn more about the different wagers available to you in the big races at Cheltenham.

Esprit Du Large secured an impressive victory at Exeter in November, and then he was superb in winning the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown last month. Yet he is still a 25/1 long shot for the Arkle and that looks like a really attractive option for anyone hunting out each-way value.

The field for the race looks solid, featuring strong runners like Notebook and Fakir D’oudaries, but there is no standout favourite and Esprit Du Large has the potential to defy the odds.

Chacun Pour Soi

This year’s Champion Chase will be a fascinating renewal. Defi Du Seuil is the clear favourite after winning the JLT Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham in 2019 and then winning the Shloer Chase at the November Meeting and recording back-to-back Grade 1 triumphs in the Tingle Creek and the Clarence House Chase.

This will probably be billed as an epic battle between Defi Du Seuil and Altior, who won the race in 2018 and 2019. Trainer Nicky Henderson decided to step him up in trip, but it did not go well as he was a distant second to Cyrname in the Christy Chase, and he is now dropping back to 2 miles.

That focus could allow Chacun Pour Soi to slip under the radar. The lightly raced eight-year-old won the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase at Punchestown last year and he was second to A Plus Tard in the big chase at Leopardstown last month.

He could continue on an upward curve and hit the peak of his powers by March, which would allow him to mount a serious challenge for the Champion Chase. Altior could be past it, and Defi Du Seuil is not infallible, making 9/2 shot Chacun Pour Soi and intriguing each-way bet.

Min

A number of big names are in the mix for the Ryanair Chase. A Plus Tard and Defi Du Seuil both have entries, but they are likely to go for the Champion Chase instead. Beyond them you will see various famous horses that have previously flourished at the Cheltenham Festival, including Frodon and Footpad, plus luminaries like Un De Sceaux and Politologue.

Yet the one that really stands out is Min. He returned to winning ways with a fine performance in the Grade 1 John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown last month, and he is now a five-time Grade 1 winner and a five-time Grade 1 runner-up, which makes him a formidable challenger for the race.

You can find odds of 6/1 on Min, a runner-up to Altior in the Champion Chase in 2018 and in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2016, and that looks like an enticing option.

Which is the longest horse race in Britain depends, to some extent, on your terms of reference, with regard to (a) what constitutes a horse race in the first place and (b) under which ‘code’, if any, the race is run. Under the Rules of Racing or, in other words, under the auspices of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which regulates the sport, the longest horse race in Britain is, unequivocally, the Grand National at Aintree. Despite the advertised distance being reduced to 4 miles 2 furlongs and 74 yards from 2016 onwards, following a BHA survey of distances at all National Hunt racecourses, the Grand National retains its position as ‘the ultimate test of horse and rider’.

On the Flat, the picture is equally clear, at least as far as races run under the Rules of Racing are concerned. The single longest race, but not by far, is the Queen Alexandra Stakes, run over 2 miles 5 furlongs and 143 yards at Royal Ascot in June each year. The Queen Alexandra Stakes is longer, by a furlong and 153 yards, than the prestigious Gold Cup, run earlier during the Royal Meeting, but just five yards longer than the aptly-named Pontefract Marathon Handicap, run at the West Yorkshire course in April.

However, Britain is steeped in horse racing tradition, dating back to the reign of ‘Old Rowley’ himself, King Charles II, and beyond and there are several ‘ancient’ races, albeit run outside the Rules of Racing, which are longer than the Queen Alexandra Stakes. The Newmarket Town Plate, instigated by King Charles II, is run over 3 miles 6 furlongs on the so-called ‘Round Course’ at Newmarket Racecourse, which is used just once a year, in August. The race is contested by amateur riders, subject to certain eligibility criteria.

So, too, is the Kiplingcotes, or Kipling Cotes, Derby, which definitely dates from 1618 and, reputedly, from 1519, making it the oldest, as well as the longest, annual horse race in Britain. The race, which can be contested by horses of any age, is staged at Kiplingcotes, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the third Thursday in March over a course consisting of 4 miles of occasionally steep, often muddy, trackway and farmland. Bizarrely, the winning rider receives £50, but the runner-up receives the remainder of the entry fees.

A handicap is a race in which each horse carries a weight according to its official rating, allocated by a team of handicappers at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The official rating expresses, in Imperial pounds, the ability of each horse, so it can be compared with others and handicap races can be framed to give each horse, at least in theory, an equal chance of winning.

To qualify for an official rating, a horse must typically run in at least three so-called ‘weight for age’ races. A weight-for-age race is one in which each horse carries a fixed weight, according to its age and sex, the race distance and the time of year. Of course, a horse may run better or worse from one weight-for-age race to the next, but the handicappers will typically focus on its best performance, unless there is reason to believe that the form of the race is unreliable.

Once a horse is qualified for handicaps, each subsequent performance is analysed by the handicappers and its rating may be raised, lowered or stay the same, depending on their findings. By definition, if a horse wins a handicap, it must have improved on its official rating to do so, so its rating may be raised by 6lb, 7lb or more, depending on the level of the race in question. In a large, competitive field, it may also be necessary to raise the official ratings of the placed horses, on the grounds that, by beating most of their rivals, they, too, have improved. Conversely, if a horse is deteriorating and runs to a level below its official rating on more than one occasion, its rating may be lowered; by how much depends on the profile of the horse but, as any trainer will tell you, horses typically go up the weights much faster than they come down.

In assessing the level of any race, the handicappers may make reference to a horse, known as a ‘yardstick’ horse, which has run to the same standard as its official rating in the race under scrutiny, or to the same standard in a series of recent races. Having identified such a horse, they use a sliding scale, ranging from 3lb per length for Flat races over the minimum 5 furlongs to 1lb per length for Flat races over 1 mile 7 furlongs and beyond, or National Hunt races, to determine how the margins between the yardstick horse and its competitors should be interpreted in terms of official ratings.