eddie wood
Warns not to miss key pointers you can find in Racing Post
Careful bettors must not chase losses or wildly use different stakes and have a dedicated betting bank separate from family funds. If this is the case, you may be able to take the step towards becoming a semi-professional investor.
This article is likely to give you an invaluable insight into the process of horse selection. I suggest that you visit the results section of the RacingPost as early as you can, regardless of whether you have won or lost. Losing is just as important as being successful, both from a psychological viewpoint and to examine the comments about your selections. You will find encouragement to have a future interest on a horse in around 4% of cases and will be rewarded by paying due diligence to the writers’ positive comments.
I have read numerous racing results not only in the RacingPost but in its predecessors including TheSporting
Life. The format and content of the current provider, the RacingPost, can be favourably compared to great analysts of yesteryear. There are many opportunities to make lists of horses to follow not only from yesterday’s results, but from the future predictions writers make for them.
When we examine yesterday’s results, we are given the placings of all the horses including those that have been brought down, have fallen, or were pulled up. You will also find an analysis feature for each race giving further notes on the performance of a select number of contenders. These are worth perusing, particularly if the horse is in a “Signposts” feature; the result may be seen from a different perspective.
This can be aligned to two additional items placed near the start of the results for each meeting; “Star Performer” and “Eyecatcher.” “Eyecatcher” studies horse performance and gives you indications of the ground conditions, any altered race distances, and remarks on certain aspects of course configuration. It appears at the start of the analysis, but do not pass it by in haste to see what is said about the horse or horses you backed. There may be indications and key pointers which suggest how they are likely to perform in future events.
You are given the time of the race, the trainers, and owners whose horse finished in the first two places and much more. I am particularly interested in the retrospective shape of the race and the comments that the connections of the winner give about their performance. They can be highly informative, and you will occasionally find clues to the future placement of their charge.
The “Eyecatcher” item enables you to compile a list of horses for forthcoming events in the Racing Calendar. I recommend that you use this in the same manner as any horses to follow lists. I have taken an example from Kempton on the 14th of March 2020. The “Eyecatcher” was Hometown Boy (IRE) trained by Stuart Edmunds. Last time out he “got nearer to the impressive winner previously but wasn’t ideally placed”.
This chestnut gelding ran in The European Breeders Fund Paddy Power “National Hunt” EBF Novices Handicap Hurdle over 2m5f. The ground conditions were good to soft (soft in places) and the official GoingStick figure was declared as 6.3. With this description, one must be mindful of the secondary comment ‘soft in places’. When additional comments are made they can have an important influence, particularly if the course is undulating in nature.
It is crucial to scrutinize all “Eyecatcher” and “Star Performer” horses through the normal selection process. This is despite the recommendation and comments that the respective writers make. Hometown Boy (IRE) finished seventh of 18 runners and the race reader described his performance as “midfield, effort home turn, no impression two out, well held when mistake last”.
I fully appreciate the race reader’s comments but I would carefully examine the GoingStick figure on the day and any GoingStick declared in the horse’s previous races. You must be mindful if the horse has run at the course before, what the GoingStick reading was on that particular day and how did they cope in the race under analysis.
If Hometown Boy (IRE) has not run at Kempton before, we look for a course with a similar track conformation. This gives us a truer picture of the horse’s ability and this should be considered where he next runs. If today’s race is suitable, the horse has a strong chance on general form, is in the first three or four in the betting and other conditions are favourable, it is worth considering for a bet.