In-Running Week: Three horses to lay in the run

Neil Munro / Neil Munro / 13 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Just one mention of whips from Neil this week!

"Petsas Pleasure has traded at [1.59], [1.55], [1.69], [1.23] and [1.6] in his last eight defeats which tells you all you need to know. I think he is one to just lay in-running but back-to-lay is another option.

Neil Munro brings another blast of in-play nuggets from the world of UK horse racing

I feel compelled to talk about the new whip rules this week as I know it will have an impact on how horses trade in-running, but I also know that I am very tired of reading and hearing about the whole subject matter. So I will make it brief: horses that trade at big prices, as they have to be worked on from far out and delivered late, are less likely to get up so keep that in mind for any I have marked up with those characteristics. Right, enough said.

This week I'm looking at horses that tend to give it up when in a battling finish whether the jockey has used up his quota or not.

Spice Fair
Let's be honest, Spice Fair is not superstar but you know what you get with him and that is normally a place rather than a win. Three career wins in 23 starts is not atrocious, but he should have a far higher win ratio than 13.04%. The four-year-old gelding has only been out the first three four times in 15 turf starts. He needs to be delivered very late and travels superbly well carving through fields, but the truth is he doesn't quite find as much as you are expecting. In his 20 defeats Spice Fair has traded at half his BSP 15 times, and five of those have been odds-on trades. He is a perfect list horse to back pre-race and lay off more than your stake in-running to get the field winning for you. We might see him on the AW so you may not have to wait until next season.

Petsas Pleasure
Ollie Pears' 5yo gelding has a really depressing win ratio, currently standing at just 6.9%. But you would have to say that this son of Observatory has been in decent form this summer, yet has only got his head in front once in 2011. Petsas Pleasure's profile is very similar to Spice Fair apart from he is even more one-paced in a finish. Petsas Pleasure has traded at [1.59], [1.55], [1.69], [1.23] and [1.6] in his last eight defeats which tells you all you need to know. I think he is one to just lay in-running but back-to-lay is another option.

Farleigh House
We are half way through October so we should include a National Hunt horse in this column. Although Farleigh House started out on the flat he is terribly one-paced on the run-in at times, and has been known to drift under pressure, so there are a few reasons to take the 7yo on in the run. He has won five races in 37 careers starts across all codes but for me he is a back-to-lay opportunity. He has traded at 25% of his BSP in the run ten times in those 32 defeats so you can try to go in quite low.