Author: Russ

With only 5 runners declared, at first glance the 0-85 Class 4 Handicap at Nottingham on Tuesday looks a tricky betting race . A deeper look at the contest confirms that all 5 have a good chance of progressing sufficiently to win the prize, and the early markets have Distant Shore backed from 9/4 into…

Although the strike rate for July remains at a lowly 13% there was a strong indication over the past seven days that the trials and tribulations of the first part of the month have gone and the rest of the month can be assessed, based on the fact that the horses are running to form.…

The immediate reaction after the dismal performance of the Somerville Lodge horses at Newmarket, York and Ascot on ‘Super Saturday’ was all was not well in the yard. Following a period of due diligence it was apparent that the main issue was that several of the more fancied horses simply couldn’t cope with the lightening…

Looking back at the disappointments of last weekend—where the 25 runners from Somerville Lodge managed just a couple of wins—the question of the yard’s general well-being is understandably brought into the equation when considering backing their runners this weekend. However, a deep delve into the performances suggests that the primary issue was not illness or…

In the last two seasons, William Haggas’s Somerville Lodge yard has sent 30 two-year-old runners to contest races at Newbury between July and October. Looking closely at the timing of these entries reveals a stark contrast in performance and subsequent progression: Given this relatively modest strike rate, it is surprising that 50% of Haggas-trained 2yos running…

Nine horses from Somerville Lodge set to win Group Races this season The thrilling victory of Maltese Cross in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris on Tuesday evening typified the story of the 2026 campaign for Somerville Lodge. The yard is on track to record possibly its highest number of Group race successes in…

Maltese Cross in Grand Prix de Paris Group 1 Challenge One of the core principles of the William Haggas training methodology is that, where possible, he prefers not to run his horses on what he considers unsuitable going. Occasionally, when they do run and are subjected to a hard race, it can set them back—as…

Adola in the 5.50 8f Novice Stakes at Windsor and Bintsaleh in the 10f handicap that closes the card at 8.50 are the only UK entries for Somerville Lodge in the UK before Thursday. Given the trials and tribulations of the last week it is not surprising that a ‘softly softly’ approach has been taken…

A painful week that will rank among the worst experienced by the yard in recent memory. Since Wednesday there were 37 runners that yielded only 2 winners, we largely dodged the bullets as we managed to find both winners Hoseki on Friday and Silver Force on Saturday from 8 selections over the 72 hour period.…

Friday was saved by Luke Morris’s strength in the saddle on Hoseki who was the yards, and our only winner on the day. Unfortunately, Princling joins a list of ‘morning glory’s’ having not gone through with his effort at Newmarket. Crown Office was a huge drifter and was never placed a challenge and Muhin ran…