Author: Russ

There is no question that York and Haydock are top of the Haggas hunting grounds and after a 3 month break it is fitting that the track re-opens at 5.43 with a Novice Stakes event that is a penalty kick for the Haggas raider Ancestor. The Yarmouth winner has a stone or more in hand…

Undoubtedly one of the most disappointing runs of the season from a Somerville Lodge horse by Pure Majesty at Yarmouth yesterday evening who has been touted as a potential useful filly from early summer. It wasn’t quite in the Saber Strike mode but was still difficult viewing. She looked to have gone backwards from her…

More 2yo’s of interest on Thursday and the bid by Needle Match to be the first Somerville Lodge trained colt to win a Group 3 race in Ireland this century. Needle Match has been given a break since the impact of a bad draw, fast ground and chasing a fierce early pace proved too much…

Despite his finishing position (16 of 27 ) Realign was a big eye catcher in the Stewards Cup and the handicapper has seen fit to drop him 2lb in the ratings to a mark of 96 – just 4lb higher than his easy victory at Carlisle in April. If he can get to race on…

Venetian Lion got the week of to a winning start as expected for William Haggas. Although it was a shame Yimmna knocked a joint and was pulled out. The way the race turned out I think she would have won with a bit to spare. Given the right set up August is in many ways…

The continued fast ground is a cause for concern and caution from a betting point of view. Further close analyses of the poor performance of the yards runners at Newmarket on Saturday reveals that the probable reason for the below par runs of at least three of the stables runners was the fast ground. This…

A real head scratcher of a day on Saturday. All week the Somerville Lodge horses have ran to form , which was also the case at Goodwood, Thirsk and Hamiliton on Saturday, but at Newmarket the 4 runners all run shockers including the 3 we backed. Sometimes there is simply no explanation and on a…

It is no good hiding from the fact that weakness in the market surrounding a William Haggas horse is rarely a good sign . Occasionally an early morning drift occurs followed by strong support but that is usually when the opening markets have put one in too short. From a market perspective the signs are…

William Haggas sends out a big squad on Saturday but presents punters with a real poser at Goodwood running both Al Aasy and Opportunity in the Group 3 Glorious Stakes at 2.25. Al Aasy is bidding for a hat-trick of wins in the race and the 9yo who can throw in a complete no show…

The retention policy for keeping more older horses ( 4yo+) in training at Somerville Lodge this season shows a slight drop in overall strike rate, it is delivering superior quality where it matters most in Class 1 races (Listed and Group 1,2,3) Where it has proved less successful is in Class 2 and 3 handicaps…