The inaugural meeting of the brand new Friday Night Live initiative is set to take place at Wolverhampton on Friday night. It is the first in a set of evening meetings aimed at attracting a younger audience to horse racing, with nine competitive handicaps all set to be broadcast live on ITV4.
Matty Sutcliffe is the man charged with picking out tips across Wolverhampton’s evening card and has four in total to follow along with as Friday Night Live gets underway.
Wolverhampton Racing Tips (Friday 9 January 2026)
All nine races at Wolverhampton have fields of eight or more runners, with two having to be split into two divisions. Here are Matty’s four tips on what should be a hugely enjoyable card.
5:30 Wolverhampton – SBK: Betting Without The Bull Handicap (Class 3) (4yo+ 0-90) – Eminency 8/1 1pt WIN
A wide draw isn’t obviously ideal on the face of things but with pace being drawn right across the track, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this fall into the lap of Eminency, who should find this slightly easier than the 0-105 he contested at Southwell last time out when beaten a neck by the consistent Pocklington.
The winner was sat in the box seat throughout with Eminency covered up behind the re-opposing Ten Pounds and Purest Time, and he passed those late on before just failing to reel in Pocklington. A 2lbs subsequent rise doesn’t do him any particularly favours, but since having wind surgery this season and equipped with the hood/tongue tie combination, his form reads 202141412 (212 in 6F handicaps) and he could still have plenty more to offer on the all-weather.
His penultimate run at Chelmsford saw him take a 0-85 over seven furlongs when pulling three lengths clear with the second, and the fourth landed a 15K 0-85 at Southwell next time out to frank that form.
A first visit to Wolverhampton shouldn’t be any issue in that respect, Stuart Williams remains in strong form under 5lbs claimer Jack Dace and the eight day turnaround is of no concern given he’s proven to run well between that gap in the past (nose second at Goodwood after Epsom 6th in 2024).
6:00 Wolverhampton – Friday Night Live With SBK Handicap (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Market House 11/1 1pt EW 3 places
The well-bred Market House is from the family of some useful hurdles as well as treble-Oaks heroine Alexandrova, but he failed to hit anywhere near those heights for Barry Connell with form figures of 0000009907.
Since switched to James Owen in February, her form has drastically improved with form figures of 3112231212975PU5 under both codes. He went slightly off the boil on three of his last four starts, but they were over hurdles and after a return to the flat, he caught the eye strongly over an inadequate trip on his first run back from wind surgery here. He was ridden in rear from stall five but travelled into the race well, before given a very soft time of things in the straight, given just the one smack of the whip and seemingly running into the back of rivals.
Despite the inadequate trip, he clocked the second highest top speed, and rather unsurprisingly he clocked the third fastest finishing speed percentage along with the largest stride length. The data backs up the visual suspicion that everything points in the direction that he’ll be better suited to this trip, and naturally he can step forward after that wind operation.
His form figures at this trip read 111 with two of those coming on the all-weather, his record on the flat equipped with a tongue tie reads 31122 and his record with cheek-pieces equipped to that reads 21. He was without any aids last time out, but they now return which is a signal of intent and he was only two lengths behind Brasil Power there who’s won twice since latterly in class two company now rated 8lbs higher.
7:00 Wolverhampton – Tipping Tom On SBK Bet Feed Handicap (Div I) (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Revolutionise 6/1 1pt WIN
The veteran Revolutionise showed no signs of tempering his enthusiasm for the game when taking his record in January to 11122724341061 (6-14) last time out under an excellent ride from Jack Dace, and he’s still well handicapped on form from last winter despite a 4lbs rise.
His C&D record reads a respectable 1218238226, and a wide draw is of little concern given his patient style. Jack Dace’s 5lbs claim alleviates the burden of top-weight and should he remain in a similar vein of form then he looks primed for another big effort, particularly given he’s proven to back up a seven day turnaround in the past.
7:30 Wolverhampton – Tipping Tom On SBK Bet Feed Handicap (Div II) (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Monotone 50/1 0.5pt EW 3 places
In the second division, a wild swing is taken on the outsider Monotone who lurks on a handy mark for his first visit to Wolverhampton. He was a 2yo winner at the Curragh over five furlongs for Jim Bolger in 2024, and was only two lengths behind Arizona Blaze in Listed company next time out with that one placing in multiple Group 1s later that season.
Though he’s winless since, he returned as a gelding next season and was only beaten a length in a competitive handicap at Gowran Park off 16lbs higher last April, finishing a length ahead of Shiota who won her next two starts including a 29k fillies handicap at the Curragh now rated 10lbs higher.
Monotone’s form dipped sharply since then, but after wind surgery and a 132 day break he ran a creditable race on yard debut for Anthony Brittain. He was without cover in front throughout and weakened late on to be beaten six lengths, and it was a similar story fifteen days later there next time out.
His best effort last season came when covered up around a bend at Gowran Park, which provides optimism a trip to Wolverhampton could see him improve. On that bare form of things he absolutely has to, but he’s 7lbs lower than when joining the yard last month, 17lbs lower than first entering handicaps and with a first time visor equipped, he may prove sharper along with those two runs from a layoff behind him.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Best Bets
5:30 Wolverhampton – SBK: Betting Without The Bull Handicap (Class 3) (4yo+ 0-90) – Eminency 8/1 1pt WIN
6:00 Wolverhampton – Friday Night Live With SBK Handicap (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Market House 11/1 1pt EW 3 places
7:00 Wolverhampton – Tipping Tom On SBK Bet Feed Handicap (Div I) (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Revolutionise 6/1 1pt WIN
7:30 Wolverhampton – Tipping Tom On SBK Bet Feed Handicap (Div II) (Class 5) (4yo+ 0-75) – Monotone 50/1 0.5pt EW 3 places
Matty Sutcliffe’s Friday Night Live Wolverhampton Tips – Friday 9 January
FAQs
What are today’s Friday Night Live racing tips?
Matthew Sutcliffe provides his best bets at Wolverhampton’s first Friday Night Live meeting on Friday 9 January.
When were Matthew Sutcliffe’s tips published?
Matty Sutcliffe’s Wolverhampton tips were published at 4.40pm on Wednesday 7 January.
Who is Matthew Sutcliffe?
Matthew Sutcliffe is GGs newest contributor, often providing a value angle for his tips. He writes weekly columns for the weekend’s racing, as well as taking aim at ante-post markets at the Cheltenham Festival.
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