I was very pleased with the Friday Breeder’s Cup calls and hints, which were really based only on the information available for free at three sites: www.attheraces.com; www.racingpost.com and www.betfair.com (Timeform).
Hit the Bomb won at 730pm, Lea was second as the each way bet to nothing. I do like these each way bets. The horse is poised to pounce should the odds-on favourite under-perform (he didn’t, alas).
Illuminate did not place in the 850pm race.
Alice Springs and Wedding Toast were both negatives for me in the 850pm and 935pm races. They both lost. My selection Stellar Wind each way in the 935pm came second by a neck . ‘D’oh!’ as they say in American racing circles.
Information – freely available information – was key to making these selections last week.
The Racing Post provides some stats for this new Jumps season. Here’s a list from the statistics page of www.racingpost.com, providing a list of the most profitable recent trainers and jockeys.
Top 10 current jockeys:
Top 10 current trainers:
How would I use this information? I would go to www.racingpost.com and, using their search facility, enter the name of the top jockey – for instance, Conor Ring. This will bring up the information on the jockey.
My first point of call would be the Record by Race type:
For 2015/2016 it is quite clear that Conor Ring is ringing in the profits when he rides a horse over hurdles. Our next point of call is Booked Rides. This will tell you his next ride: it is in a hurdle. If the odds for the horse point to the horse not being a glaring outsider, the horse may be worth backing.
The top trainers and top jockeys stats are only available to members at www.racingpost.com, so keep this list handy and check these top jockeys daily for the race types they perform best in (hurdles for Conor Ring) and when the next race is due.
I would follow the same procedure with top trainers.
With the trainers, we can check their records under the statistics tab (remember that all of this info is free). Take John Upson, for instance, the punters’ best friend over Jumps for 2015/2016.
Go through the same steps as the jockey – i.e. Record by Race type (hurdles are John Upson’s strong point) and Entries (for the next horses being run from his stable). The statistics element at the bottom can allow you to dig deeper.
The statistcs tab enables us to look at trainer’s performance in four criteria. I chose ‘course’ and it shows that John Upson has a cracking record at Uttoxeter, from a punting perspective. A 109.50 points profit to level stakes – yes please.
Do look at each criteria. Guess who is the jockey providing the most profit with Mr Upson? It’s our old showbiz pal Conor Ring.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: what are you going to do when John Upson runs a horse at Uttoxeter with Conor Ring on board?
Hmmmm…
This is just a basic introduction to form reading by trainer and jockey and how I would approach it. It is a commonsensical, logical approach and uses freely available information. Next week we’ll look at how Stable Tours can provide us with angles-in to this new Jumps season.
Have a great weekend and try some of this form reading yourself using www.racingpost.com. All of this info is freely available.