".... the bias helped - and offers clues going forward...."

Wednesday, 24th June 2026

“…. the bias helped - and offers clues going forward….”

In ATC today….

It paid to be on the stands side in the straight handicaps at Royal Ascot….

…. that’s where the winners and most of the placers were drawn….

…. but there were a couple of good performances on the far side of the track that are worth noting….

Oh…. and check out our target races this weekend….

Read on….

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There was a definite and obvious bias up the straight at Ascot last week….

…. which nobody can deny….

Of the seven handicaps run up the straight only one was won by a horse from a stall lower than 24….

…. and that was Alobayyah from stall 16 in the Kensington Palace – a race in which ‘only’ 24 went to post….

The other six straight handicaps were won by horses drawn 33, 28, 30, 30, 31 & 24….

…. and of the 28 horses that placed in those same races 22 were drawn in stall 17 or higher (I include 5th as a placer in fields of 20+)….

…. whilst just two were drawn in a single figure stall over on the far side of the track….

In other words, the higher you were drawn the better….

…. and if you happened to be drawn over on the far side – you might as well have stayed at home and saved the petrol money….

Nobody can reasonably argue that such a pronounced bias is what we want at a major international meeting….

…. in an ideal world we want a level playing field where one horse is not so obviously advantaged over another….

But – as punters – our job is to deal with what we are provided….

…. to pay attention…. and to put our money down accordingly….

There’s no doubt about it – when you can pretty much scratch 50% of the runners from the word go it does make those big-fields much easier to negotiate….

…. and when you consider that six of the seven straight handicaps – races in which an aggregate of 194 horses went to post – were won by a horse sent off in the first three in the betting….

…. it was a clearly a situation that many punters latched onto and capitalized on – yours truly being one of them (just at better prices than most!)….

And I make no apologies to punters who did their brains backing horses on the far side – hoping the bias would do an overnight turnaround as it had a couple of years ago….

…. whether you’re a horse, a jockey, a trainer, or a punter you make the most of your opportunities – however and wherever they arise….

Of course, most punters – depending on which side of the divide they fell last week – will pat themselves on the back or have a bit of a grumble and then move on….

…. more will be focused this morning on Saturday’s Northumberland Plate at Newcastle than on last week’s straight handicaps at the Royal meeting….

…. but there are a couple of horses worth noting from last week’s straight handicap action….

Indalo, is the first….

Roger Varian’s 5yo was one of those horses I mentioned that hit the frame from a single figure draw….

…. finishing 3/28 in the Royal Hunt Cup from stall 8 – beaten 2.5 and 1.5 lengths by a front two advantaged by the track bias on the stands side….

In the context of the week that was one hell of a run….

…. he basically won a 20-runner handicap on the far side….

…. racing right over on the other side too – he hadn’t been taken to the middle…. he didn’t edge that way late….

…. and he’s up just a pound for the performance to a revised mark of 99 – and he’s probably good value going forward off that mark….

After all, you don’t get too many winners of a 20-runner handicap that go up so little in the weights….

Laureate Crown would be the other one to note….

…. he could only finish 12/30 in the Britannia – beaten a good 5.75-lengths by the winner….

He ran out of stall number 16 in the middle of the track….

…. but under a Jamie Spencer ride he finished the race right over on the far rail….

…. the last place you’d want to be up the straight last week given the benefit of hindsight….

…. and he beat home the 13 opponents that stayed over on that far side for the duration of race….

If he’d won a 14-runner handicap at any other track on any other day of the week he’d be up in the weights – there no doubt about that whatsoever….

…. but his mark remains unchanged this morning on 98….

In other words….

…. both these horses produced big on-the-day performances….

…. that went entirely against a grain established across the week….

…. which are disguised by the wider race result….

…. and which have not been penalized by the official assessor….

Bottom line: both horses are better treated than they perhaps ought to be going forward….

…. and that’s something worth knowing in the handicap game….

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That’s all for today….

Back tomorrow….

Meantime – check out our upcoming target races….

Contact me at – nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk

Stay tuned….

Against the Crowd