Race: 1m 2½f Handicap (4yo+, 47-72)Surface: Standard PolytrackThis 12-runner handicap looks straightforward on paper, but the data suggests the favourite is a precarious proposition. We have a classic setup: a short-priced market leader with bad habits versus a clutch of improving types primed for this specific distance.The Favourite: Why We’re Swerving Autocrat (3/1)The books have…

Date: Friday, 13th February 2026Race: 6.45 Wolverhampton (7f Handicap)Four-runner races are the graveyard of “good things”. Punters often look at the highest-rated horse, see a small field, and assume it’s a penalty kick. It isn’t. It’s a tactical trap.In a field of four, there is rarely a genuine gallop. The race usually devolves into a…

Date: Friday 13th February 2026Race: Damian Toshi McDougall Memorial Handicap Chase (Class 4)Conditions: 3m2f, HeavyKelso in February on Heavy ground is not a place for the faint-hearted. Today’s 3m2f handicap chase effectively rides like four miles elsewhere. This is an attrition test where stamina indexes and jumping efficiency under pressure are the only metrics that…

The ground at Chepstow this afternoon is Soft, Heavy in places. Throw in a bit of light Welsh rain and a trip just shy of three miles, and the 3.45 handicap chase becomes a brutal test of stamina. You don’t just need a horse that stays; you need a horse that is ridden to conserve…

Tomorrow’s 3.35 at Kelso—a Class 3 Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase—is a 16-fence test of attrition. On Heavy ground over 2m 5½f, this won’t be a race for the faint-hearted. It is a compact six-runner field, but the data reveals a clear divide between the established class and the speculative improvers.The Pace MapWith no confirmed “front-runner”…

Small fields on soft ground are often misread as tactical affairs. In reality, they are pure tests of stamina efficiency. In Friday’s 3.10 at Chepstow—a Class 3 Mares’ Handicap Hurdle—the market is likely to focus on recent winning margins, but the underlying data suggests a different conclusion.The Pace ConflictThe race map is dominated by two…

Small fields on Heavy ground are often billed as tactical affairs, but at Kelso, they usually boil down to one thing: stamina. Friday’s 3.00 Handicap Chase features six runners, a 12lb weight spread, and enough mud to test the resolve of the hardiest stayers.Here is the no-nonsense breakdown of the field.The Leading LightsMaximilian (4/1)The form…

Small-field handicap chases at Fakenham are rarely about finding the “best” horse; they are about finding the horse best suited to the track’s idiosyncratic, tight turns and the likely tactical crawl.Friday’s Terry Moyise Memorial Mares Handicap Chase sees four runners go to post on Soft ground. Here is the technical breakdown of the field.The C&D…

This four-runner Class 3 Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase over 2m 3.5f is a classic tactical puzzle. While the market is siding with local hope Juby Ball, a technical look at the weights and pace suggests the value lies with the top weight.Tactical OverviewChepstow is a galloping track where rhythm is everything. In a small field,…

Kelso on a Friday in February is never for the faint-hearted, and tomorrow’s 2.30 Racing TV Club Day Handicap Hurdle is no exception. We are looking at a 2-mile trip on Heavy ground where survival is the primary metric.### The Pace Map: A Recipe for a Collapse?The data suggests a burn-up is likely. Both Chase…