Be sure of the competition

 

This means they are picking the right races for the right horses and as such, may have picked the right one for the horse you are looking at.

Tip 7: Be sure of the competition

It can be all to easy to get consumed by the form and data available on the horse you are keen on, but not the others in the race. This can be fatal.

You may think the sun shines out of the ass of the horse (get it) you fancy, but there are a few other contenders in the race whose owners, trainers and connections think the same.

So make sure you look at the form of the other horses, especially if you are backing a favourite. Why aren’t the others priced shorter? What has happened in the competitions last few races?

E.g. You may find that a horse didn’t finish its last race (for many possible reasons) and as such has a P or a U on its form guide… but it may have also won its previous 3 races, but they can’t make it favourite as on paper there is a better last race finisher.

Bear it in mind, “Why is my horse favourite and the others aren’t?”

Tip 8: Jockey and Trainer combination

There are some jockey and trainer combinations that are extremely powerful, and generally, they mean business.

Think of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori. A powerhouse combo and generally a serious horse is underneath Frankie and trained by John or his son.

If you see these two in combination then it’s a pretty good sign that the horse in question has a serious interest in the race and will be in the running to win.

Tip 9: Check the Going - Please, check the going!

The ‘Going’, is the state of the ground on which the horses are going to race.

The range is from soft to firm with good in the middle and some other descriptors, but basically, it’s telling you whether the ground is going to be heavy, muddy, slippery, hard etc. And each horse has a preference as to the ground they like.

So please check on the morning of the race whether the going has changed, as it will make a massive difference to the prices and the potential winners of the race in question from the day or days before.

The price a week before a race is one thing, but 5 days of rain especially over jumps could change everything, so please check the going before backing a favourite that has only ever won on firm ground. This is particularly relevant at big festivals like Cheltenham where ante-post betting is very popular.