Five meetings go ahead on Thursday 29 October: Stratford and Ffos Las over jumps, Bath and Punchestown on the Flat, and Southwell on the all-weather into the evening. We’ve picked out the four best races of the day and pulled the stats that matter before you bet.

The biggest prize among the featured races is at Southwell, where the 7.00pm Class 3 handicap is worth £8,208 to the winner. The going is Heavy at Bath, Soft at Stratford, Good at Ffos Las and Standard at Southwell.

Key Race Schedule For Thursday 29th October

Time	Course	Race	Grade	Distance	Runners
12.42pm	Bath	David Cole Memorial EBF Novice Stakes	Class 3	1m	12
3.20pm	Stratford	Happy Birthday Penny Tyacke Handicap Chase	Class 3	2m3f 98y	10
4.30pm	Ffos Las	Dai Walters Trophy Handicap Chase	Class 3	2m3f 83y	6
7.00pm	Southwell	AW Trials Day – Lingfield 2nd Jan 2027 Handicap	Class 3	7f 14y	14

12.42pm Bath – David Cole Memorial EBF Novice Stakes

Twelve two-year-olds run in the first division of this Class 3 novice stakes over 1m on Heavy ground, worth £7,020 to the winner. Five of the field are unraced, and none of the others has won.

• Best form: Lady Phillips (Ralph Beckett, Hector Crouch) was a close second on her 1m Leicester debut 16 days ago. Trainer and jockey both carry Top Course flags, and as a filly she carries 9st 2lb, 5lb less than the colts and geldings.
• Debutants: Buxted Flyer, Civilon, Don’t Tempt Harry, Roos Racing Rocket and Zulu Chieftain all make their first start. Buxted Flyer’s trainer Andrew Balding is 12 from 48 (25%) in the last 14 days.
• Quick return: Radical Bay (Amanda Perrett, Edward Greatrex) ran in rear on his 7f Kempton debut 17 days ago. Greatrex is 3 from 15 (20%) in the last 14 days.
• Up in trip: Silent Wisdom (Ed Walker), The Can Can Man (William Haggas) and Walcourt (Jim Boyle) all made their debuts over 7f and step up to 1m. Walcourt returns after 118 days.
• First-time hood: Smash Royale (Emma Lavelle, Charles Bishop) wears a hood for the first time after finishing last on both starts.

3.20pm Stratford – Happy Birthday Penny Tyacke Handicap Chase

Ten run in this Class 3 handicap chase over 2m3f 98y on Soft ground, worth £7,209 to the winner. The ratings run from 142 down to 122, and nine of the ten have won over the distance.

• Top weight: Issam (Tom Symonds, Gavin Sheehan) is top-rated on 142 and carries 12st 2lb after 243 days off. Sheehan is 7 from 26 (27%) in the last 14 days.
• Only recent runner: Georges Lad (Emma Lavelle, Jonathan Burke) is the only runner back within a month. He was third on his chase debut 15 days ago and won over hurdles at Haydock in April.
• In-form jockeys: Mr Hope Street (Dan Skelton, Harry Skelton) won on his fourth chase start at Aintree in April and runs off a 5lb higher mark. Skelton is 15 from 46 (33%). Jipcot (Jonjo & A J O’Neill, Kielan Woods) won at Leicester in January, and Woods is 5 from 16 (31%).
• Chase debuts: Gatineau Park (Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls) won twice over hurdles last season and has had a wind operation. Big Ticket (Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies) won over hurdles in February and was beaten favourite last time.
• Long absence: Onemorefortheroad (Neil King) returns after 405 days. Bucksy Des Epeires (Venetia Williams) won at Ludlow in February in cheekpieces but runs without headgear here.

4.30pm Ffos Las – Dai Walters Trophy Handicap Chase

Six run in this Class 3 handicap chase over 2m3f 83y on Good ground, worth £6,179 to the winner. Every runner returns after at least 188 days off, and two make their chase debuts.

• Last year’s winner: Filanderer (Hughie Morrison, Sean Bowen) won this race last year and returns after 208 days. Bowen is 12 from 47 (26%) in the last 14 days and carries a Top Course Jockey flag.
• Top weight: Leader In The Park (Ben Pauling, Ben Jones) is top-rated on 129 and carries 12st. He was pulled up on his last run in February and returns after 250 days.
• Chase debuts: Wreckless Eric (Jonjo & A J O’Neill, Jonjo O’Neill Jr) was second in the Imperial Cup last season for the second year running. Patriotik (Mrs C Williams, Adam Wedge) is the lowest-rated on 107 and carries 10st 6lb.
• Wind operation: Toothless (Paul Nicholls, Jay Tidball) has had a wind operation during his 189-day break.
• Amateur rider: Just Over Land (Sam Thomas) is ridden by Mr Harvey Barfoot-Saunt and returns after 194 days.

7.00pm Southwell – AW Trials Day – Lingfield 2nd Jan 2027 Handicap

Fourteen run in this Class 3 handicap over 7f 14y on Standard ground, worth £8,208 to the winner and the richest of the four featured races. Only 7lb covers the field, from 93 down to 86.

• C&D winners: Storm Free (James Tate), Dapper Guest (George Margarson) and Raging Raj (Michael Herrington) are all on today’s course-and-distance winners list.
• Herrington trio: Michael Herrington runs Nikovo, Down To The Kid and Raging Raj, and is 5 from 18 (28%) in the last 14 days. Down To The Kid returns after 187 days and has had a wind operation since his last run.
• In-form jockeys: Asuka (George Boughey, P J McDonald) was beaten favourite last time, 46 days ago. McDonald is 5 from 20 (25%). Yorkshire (Edward Bethell, Clifford Lee) runs 17 days after his last start, and Lee is 6 from 27 (22%).
• First-time headgear: Mirabeau (Dominic Ffrench Davis) wears blinkers for the first time. American Gulf (Oliver Cole) has a tongue strap fitted for the first time.
• Handicap debut: Khaleejy (Ismail Mohammed & Jose Santos, Kevin Stott) makes his handicap debut after 119 days off. His trainers are 2 from 8 (25%) in the last 14 days.

Trainers and jockeys in form

These strike rates cover the last 14 days, and every name has runners in today’s featured races.

Name	Role	Last 14 days	Featured runners today
Michael Herrington	Trainer	5/18 (28%)	Nikovo, Down To The Kid, Raging Raj (7.00pm Southwell)
Andrew Balding	Trainer	12/48 (25%)	Buxted Flyer (12.42pm Bath)
Ismail Mohammed & Jose Santos	Trainer	2/8 (25%)	Khaleejy (7.00pm Southwell)
Harry Skelton	Jockey	15/46 (33%)	Mr Hope Street (3.20pm Stratford)
Kielan Woods	Jockey	5/16 (31%)	Jipcot (3.20pm Stratford)
Gavin Sheehan	Jockey	7/26 (27%)	Issam (3.20pm Stratford)
Sean Bowen	Jockey	12/47 (26%)	Filanderer (4.30pm Ffos Las)
P J McDonald	Jockey	5/20 (25%)	Asuka (7.00pm Southwell)
Clifford Lee	Jockey	6/27 (22%)	Yorkshire (7.00pm Southwell)
Edward Greatrex	Jockey	3/15 (20%)	Radical Bay (12.42pm Bath)

Key angles

• Three C&D winners: Storm Free, Dapper Guest and Raging Raj, all in the 7.00pm at Southwell, are the only runners in the four featured races on today’s course-and-distance winners list.
• Long absences over fences: All six runners at Ffos Las and nine of the ten at Stratford return after more than 150 days off. Georges Lad, back after 15 days, is the exception.
• Ground contrast: Bath is Heavy and Stratford Soft, while Ffos Las is Good. Five of the twelve in the Bath novice stakes have never run.
• Course specialists: Filanderer won the Ffos Las race last year, and Lady Phillips’ trainer and jockey both carry Top Course flags at Bath.

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