A Wednesday Night at Hexham — and Proud of It

My old dad used to say there were two kinds of racing fans: those who only wanted Ascot and Newmarket, and those who understood that the real soul of the sport lives somewhere else entirely. He was a Wednesday evening man. Flasks of tea, a crumpled racecard, and a genuine sense that something unexpected was about to happen. I thought about him tonight watching the Hexham card unfold — six races on a warm July evening in Northumberland, standard to slow going underfoot, and a programme that had rather more to it than the class numbers might suggest.

This wasn't a card for the purists hunting Group race glory. But if you're the kind of punter who enjoys spotting a progressive type before the handicapper gets wise, or watching an unraced filly hint at something bigger to come, then the Hexham racecard tonight was your kind of evening. Let's dig in.

The Feature Race: Fillies Showing Their Hand Over a Mile and a Quarter

If I had to pick one race to pull up a chair for, it's the 18:38 EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes (Class 3) over the mile-and-a-quarter trip. Thirteen runners, every single one of them unrated — which means thirteen blank pages, and in my experience, that's where the most interesting stories get written.

The name that catches the eye immediately is Kashooda, ridden by Oisin Murphy. When Murphy takes a booking on an unraced filly in a Class 3 novice, you pay attention. He doesn't fill his diary with charity rides. Trainer connections will be worth checking — if this is a yard with a decent record at the track or over this trip, Kashooda could be the one everyone's talking about on Thursday morning.

Blue Hill (Benoit de la Sayette) is another worth watching carefully. De la Sayette has been quietly building a strong book of rides this season and has a good eye for pace over middle distances. Marianita with Rossa Ryan aboard is similarly interesting — Ryan is in fine form and this looks like a considered booking rather than a fill-in ride.

With a prize fund of £12,000 and GBB/GBBPlus status, the connections of the placed horses will have options to follow up, so even the runners who finish second and third tonight are worth keeping in your notebook. The longer trip — a mile and two furlongs and change — will suit fillies with a bit of scope, and on standard to slow ground, you'd expect the more robust types to come to the fore.

The Apprentice Race: Young Talent and Horses With a Story

The opener, the 17:28 Unibet Apprentice Handicap over the same mile-and-a-quarter trip, was part of the Apprentice Training Series, and these races are genuinely worth your time if you like watching the next generation find their feet.

Big Bear Hug (Alfie Redman, rated 68) heads the weights and is the one to beat on form, but in apprentice races the market can be turned on its head by a young rider having a breakthrough moment. Keep an eye on Sonnerie Power (Joe Bradnam, rated 64) — the C,D form figures suggest course and distance experience, and that counts for plenty when the going gets a bit tacky. Distinction (Finlay Bassett, rated 61) also carries those C,D markers and shouldn't be underestimated at the weights.

Valentine Boy (Jude Fernandes, rated 67) is interesting — course form is always a useful asset, and at 67 he's competitive in this grade. Fernandes is a name to watch in the apprentice ranks more broadly; he's been picking up some decent spares lately.

Ones to Follow — Horses Worth a Space in Your Notebook

This is the bit I enjoy most. Never mind the result — who ran a race tonight that suggests bigger things ahead?

  • Kashooda — If she runs well in the Class 3 fillies' novice, she could be anything. An Oisin Murphy ride on debut in this grade suggests connections believe they have something worthwhile. Watch for where she goes next — a listed race or a step up in class wouldn't surprise.
  • Caprelo (Tom Marquand, rated 81) — In the 19:13 Stayers' Series Qualifier over nearly two miles, Caprelo heads the weights with C,D form and Tom Marquand in the saddle. Marquand doesn't often venture to Hexham on a midweek evening without a decent chance. If he wins or runs well, the London Stayers' Series could be on the agenda.
  • Baileys Khelstar (Oisin Murphy, rated 81) — Murphy again, this time in the stayers' handicap. Joint top weight with Caprelo and course-proven over the distance. Two Murphy rides in one evening at Hexham is worth noting — he's clearly seen something in both cards.
  • Thapa VC (Oisin Murphy, rated 64) — Yes, Murphy three times. In the second division of the Class 6 mile handicap at 20:55, Thapa VC carries C,D form and gets the champion jockey. At a mark of 64 in a Class 6, there's every chance the handicapper has been kind. One to follow if he wins with any authority.
  • Speed Nation (James Doyle) — In the 18:03 EBF Fillies' Novice over six furlongs, Doyle's booking is the standout. He's not a man who travels to Northumberland on a whim. Unrated, unraced presumably, but with a jockey of that calibre — file her away.

The Mile Handicaps: Competitive Chaos and a Few Sneaky Chances

The two Class 6 mile handicaps — split into divisions for the 19:48 and 20:55 slots — are the kind of races where the form book occasionally gets torn up and thrown in the air. Fourteen runners in the first division, eleven in the second. Standard to slow going. Plenty of exposed handicappers, a few with course form, and the odd wildcard.

In the first division, Sports Day (Tom Marquand, rated 62) is interesting — Marquand picking up a Class 6 ride suggests either a favour to connections or a genuine belief the horse is well-handicapped. Positive Thoughts (Oisin Murphy, rated 60) is another Murphy booking to note — at 60 in a Class 6 on a track that rewards horses who travel well through the race, there could be more to come.

In the second division, Volto di Medusa (Rossa Ryan, rated 65) heads the weights with course and distance form. Ryan is flying at the moment and this looks a well-judged booking. Gladiadora (Saffie Osborne, rated 62) with course form could be the value lurker — Osborne is an excellent judge of pace and rides Hexham well.

Looking Ahead — Where Do These Horses Go Next?

The beauty of an evening like this is that it plants seeds. The fillies who ran in those novice stakes tonight — particularly the Class 3 over a mile and a quarter — could easily reappear at a track like Nottingham, Newmarket's July course, or even one of the northern tracks over the coming weeks. GBB and GBBPlus status means connections are incentivised to keep running, so we should see most of these names again fairly soon.

Caprelo and Baileys Khelstar, if either ran well in the stayers' qualifier, will have the London Stayers' Series firmly in mind. That series has been a lovely route for the staying handicapper who's been slightly overlooked, and a good performance at Hexham tonight could set up a decent payday down the line.

And for the apprentice riders — Fernandes, Bassett, Tucker, Glennon — tonight was another step. One of them might have done something tonight that gets a bigger yard on the phone. That's how careers start.

Final Thoughts from the Paddock

Hexham on a July evening is one of those fixtures that doesn't shout about itself, but quietly delivers. The Hexham racecard tonight offered progressive fillies, a cracking stayers' handicap, and more Oisin Murphy bookings than you'd expect this far north of Newmarket — which tells its own story. Keep Kashooda, Speed Nation, Caprelo, and Thapa VC in your notes. One or two of them will pop up somewhere in the next fortnight and you'll be glad you were watching on a Wednesday evening in Northumberland.

My dad would have approved. Flask of tea and all.