A Monday Night in Northumberland — Worth Every Minute

Now look, I'll be honest with you — when someone says 'Monday evening flat racing at Hexham,' there's a part of you that reaches for your coat and heads to the sofa. But don't be so quick to dismiss it, because tonight's card had genuine interest scattered through it like gold dust in a Northumberland stream. Eight races, a Standard to Slow surface that was going to sort the stayers from the passengers, and a cast of jockeys that had no business being this strong for an October Monday. William Buick riding at Hexham on a school night? Someone somewhere fancied their chances, and I wanted to know who.

The Hexham racecard was a proper mixed bag — novice stakes, handicaps, sprints, and a couple of mile-and-a-bit tests that would reward horses with a bit of guts about them. On a surface that was nudging slow, stamina was always going to be the currency of the evening, and I had my notebook out from the first furlong of the 16:10.

The Feature Race: Novice Stakes Over a Mile — Buick Holds the Aces

If you're picking a feature from this card, you start with the 16:10 EBF Novice Stakes — Class 3 money, £13,000 on the table, and a field of eight that included some seriously interesting unraced or lightly raced types. Eight runners, eight jockeys you'd recognise, and not a rating between them. That's the beauty of novice racing — everyone's got a secret and nobody's showing their hand until the stalls open.

Spartan, ridden by William Buick, was the one that caught my eye before a wheel turned. Buick doesn't schlep up to Northumberland on a Monday evening unless the horse underneath him has shown something at home that justifies the fuel. He's not a man who wastes his time, and when you see that booking, you sit up straight. Over a mile on ground that was asking questions of stamina, a horse with any physical scope at all was going to be given every chance by the best big-race jockey in the country.

That said, Zabeel Express with James Doyle aboard deserves a mention — Doyle is another who picks his spots carefully, and the name alone suggests connections with ambition. Dark Supremacy under Benoit de la Sayette was interesting too — de la Sayette has been quietly excellent this season and he doesn't get on horses that can't gallop. With no ratings to go on, this was a race where instinct and homework mattered more than numbers, and I'd wager the market told its own story on the night.

Ones to Follow — The Horses Worth Tracking This Autumn

The 17:15 novice over a mile and three furlongs was where things got really tasty. Pursuit of Love, rated 90 and partnered by Connor Planas, was the form horse in the field by a country mile — and on ground this side of good, that rating and that stamina trip looked tailor-made. But here's the thing: a 90-rated horse in a novice stakes is either there to win easily and build confidence, or there's something slightly amiss and connections are looking for a confidence boost. Either way, watch where this horse goes next. If Pursuit of Love wins cosily, you'll be seeing this one in Listed company before the season closes.

Noble Journey — again with Buick up — was the unknown quantity that intrigued me most. Unrated, in against a horse rated 90, but Buick takes the ride. That's either a very confident training team or a horse that's been working like a Group horse at home. I've been caught out before dismissing Buick's lesser-fancied mounts, and I wasn't about to make that mistake twice.

Allaire (rated 80, Jason Watson) was the third runner with a handicap mark, and Watson is a jockey who knows how to get a tune out of a horse on a galloping track. Keep an eye on all three of these into the backend of the season.

In the handicap division, a few names stood out as potential improvers:

  • Sax Avoidance (17:45, rated 74, course and distance winner) — that C&D record on a track like Hexham is no coincidence. Horses that handle this undulating course tend to come back and handle it again.
  • Moving Force (18:45 sprint, rated 81) — top weight in the London Sprint Series Qualifier, and Jack Mitchell is a sharp operator over six furlongs. If this one goes close under a penalty, it's crying out for a step up in grade.
  • Portman Blue (19:15, David Egan, rated 60) — Egan on the top-rated horse in a Class 6 over seven furlongs. The ground would have suited, and if this one won with anything in hand, there's a handicap mark to be exploited before the turf season wraps up.

Jockey Watch — Strong Bookings Tell Their Own Story

I said it already but I'll say it again — the quality of jockeyship on this card was remarkable for a Monday evening in October at Hexham. William Buick with two rides, James Doyle, David Egan, Cieren Fallon, Callum Rodriguez — these are not names you associate with making up the numbers. When the big yards send their big jockeys to a track like this, it means something. Someone's got a horse they fancy, and they want it ridden properly.

David Egan was particularly busy across the card — four rides spanning sprints to staying handicaps. Egan is a jockey who's matured brilliantly over the last couple of seasons and his strike rate on tracks outside the major venues has been quietly excellent. If you're following a jockey for value tonight, Egan was your man.

At the other end of the experience scale, Myla Coppins had a couple of rides in the later handicaps and it's always worth keeping tabs on the younger riders making their way. Apprentices riding at 7lb or more off their claim can be tremendous value in these Class 6 handicaps, and Coppins has been showing enough to suggest she's one to watch.

Looking Ahead — Where Do These Horses Go Next?

The novice winners from tonight — particularly from the EBF race and the 17:15 — will likely be targeted at Listed or Pattern races if they win with any authority. The GBB/GBBPLUS race designation means there's prize money to be unlocked with follow-up wins, so connections of any impressive novice winner will be straight back to the entries book looking for a similar opportunity in the next fortnight.

The London Mile Series qualifier in the 16:45 is worth noting for the bigger picture — horses accumulating points in these series races will be heading to a final later in the season, so any winner or placed horse from that race has a clear path mapped out. Magic Box, Piscean Star, and Wind Summer all had course form to recommend them, and course form at Hexham is not to be dismissed lightly.

For the staying handicappers in the 20:15 closer — a mile and three furlongs on Standard to Slow ground at the end of an evening card — the horses that finish strongly here often reappear over hurdles once the National Hunt season gets properly underway. Keep that in mind. A flat stayer who handles cut in the ground is often a jumps horse waiting to happen, and trainers who operate in both codes will be watching closely.

The Verdict — Hexham Delivered

Look, Hexham on a Monday evening isn't Cheltenham on a Friday. Nobody's pretending otherwise. But if you care about finding horses before they become expensive — before the handicapper catches them, before the market cottons on — then evenings like this are where the work gets done. The Hexham racecard tonight had enough quality jockeys, enough interesting novices, and enough course specialists to make it a worthwhile exercise. Spartan, Noble Journey, Pursuit of Love, and Sax Avoidance are the names going in the notebook. You heard it here first — and if I'm wrong, sure, you can buy me a pint and we'll say no more about it.