• Hi Guest Just in case you were not aware I wanted to highlight that you can now get a free 7 day trial of Horseracebase here.
    We have a lot of members who are existing users of Horseracebase so help is always available if needed, as well as dedicated section of the fourm here.
    Best Wishes
    AR

Handicap Class Droppers

I suspect Mr England panicked a bit there on Littletown Lad when Character Testing went off way too fast and ws 30 lengths clear going out for the last circuit. He seemed to ask LL to make up ground far too early before they'd even got up to the hill and suddenly found himself in front as they started to descend. I was sure he wasn't going to simply kick on and stay there because that's not how this horse does it and so it proved after the last the horse was done and the runner he left for dead at the top of the hill surged past him and the runner up after the last.

The winner was a chaser going back to hurdles. Something it seemed VDW didn't like as anyone who has looked at all of his selections form all of his NH examples over the years will know. But sometimes chasers switching back to hurdles on a lower mark do go and win.

I suppose when I said borderline the pair of selections, that was the warning. Temperament bedevils us all at times.
Jib like to look for Chasers switching back to hurdles off a lower mark.
 
I have never really checked out the Cobnut Method before. It was an interesting exercise. Easy to get the contenders short list and took a a few seconds . Could work well with better class Handicaps and Dutching might be another angle

Post-Race Analysis & Result Review​

The race unfolded with a collapsing pace scenario that heavily punished the early speed, validating the pre-race projection that the front end would be vulnerable. The three VDW qualifiers finished 1st, 3rd, and 4th, with Clean Getawayspringing the 11/2 upset by rallying late.

FinishHorseSPIn-Running PositionFate
1st(7) Clean Getaway11/2Chased leadersRallied 110yds out, led final strides
2nd(1) Cadillac Ranch18/1Rear mid-divisionLed 110yds out, headed final strides
3rd(3) Littletown Lad13/8fRear mid-divisionLed before 2 out, mistake, faded
4th(2) Character Testing3/1Led, went clear 2ndHeaded before 2 out, weakened

Pace Dynamics & RaceIQ Breakdown​

The Front-End Collapse Character Testing executed exactly as his profile suggested, securing the early lead and pushing a blistering pace. He clocked the highest Top Speed in the field (36.79 MPH) and the fastest average Entry Speed into the hurdles (31.39 MPH). However, this aggressive early exertion caused him to tie up late, hitting the 4th last, getting bumped at the 2nd last, and ultimately fading to 4th.

The Tactical Shift of Cadillac Ranch Before the race, Cadillac Ranch looked like a threat to force the pace alongside Character Testing based on his prior run. Instead, his jockey anchored him in "rear mid-division," completely shifting the tactical map. Shielded from the pace duel, he conserved energy for a massive late run that nearly stole the race at 18/1.

The Jumping Anomaly: Cadillac Ranch's Masterclass The underlying RaceIQ metrics reveal exactly why Cadillac Ranch outran his 18/1 odds: he put on an absolute jumping clinic. He dominated every critical jumping efficiency category:

  • Lengths Gained Jumping: +5.28L (1st)
  • Time In Envelope: 4.56s (1st)
  • Exit Speed: 30.52 MPH (1st)
  • Recovery Time: 0.84s (1st)
  • Positive Jump %: 87.50% (1st)
By contrast, Littletown Lad (the 13/8 favorite) lost his chance at the obstacles. Despite making a strong move from the rear to lead before the 2 out, a critical mistake at that hurdle and a left-leaning jump at the last broke his momentum. He lost nearly 3 MPH over the hurdles (8th in Speed Lost) and only posted a 57.14% Positive Jump rate.

VDW Qualifier Performance​

The VDW methodology successfully isolated the core contenders in this field.

  • Clean Getaway (1st): Dropped back to hurdles and capitalized on the collapsing pace. Despite average jumping metrics (+1.55L gained), his tactical positioning behind the speed allowed him to pick up the pieces in the final 110 yards.
  • Littletown Lad (3rd): Travelled smoothly into the race exactly as mapped, but his sloppy jumping late (2nd out and the last) cost him the victory.
  • Character Testing (4th): Burned too much fuel on the front end, paying the price for his early 36.79 MPH top speed.
 
Screenshot 2026-10-07 at 16.43.59.pngScreenshot 2026-10-07 at 16.44.41.jpg

Excuse the bad alignment, but I marked the ARs off against the cards a long time ago now.
Pagan Sun 9th of 10 runners.
Merry Jane joint 9th of 20 runners.
It's a blind alley Chesham Chesham as far as solving VDW's solution to the "puzzle' he set us.
As too are consistency totals, course winner status, etc.

He said this method was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT to the Chase method. Just as he said the Travado/Rivage Bleu/Valiant Warrior etc method had NOTHING TO DO with what he'd previously written.

I compared Littletown Lad to Merry Jane earlier. Well they weren't quite the same really. She'd done something he hadn't last time out and was doing something he wasn't today.

In fact Aimeric had a bit more in common with Merry Jane, but still hadn't done what she did last time out and when going into the race VDW selected her in.

Look at Cawarra Lad in the same race as Merry Jane. Their trainers had done things a bit differently to arrive at Ludlow that day.

By the way note the jockey on Merry Jane. He's training group winners on the flat these days.
 
Last edited:
I will start a thread on the Inner Sanctum to see how these work out in the better class Handicap Hurdles, if you have my suggestions to add to improving the narrowing the field let me know.
 
G Garry T Tufnel
I have all of the Daily Mail race cards for the period Mon 16.12.1985 - Saturday 21.12.1985. So if you want I can screenshot all of the handicap hurdles due to take place in that week (this would of course also include the 6 races already outlined by VDW).
 
18.12.1985
12.45 Catterick (Only other meeting that day was Worcester, but there weren't any handicap hurdles at that meeting).
 

Attachments

  • 20261007_201926.jpg
    20261007_201926.jpg
    505 KB · Views: 6
19.12.1985
3.15 Carlisle, 1.00 Hereford, 3.00 Hereford
 

Attachments

  • 20261007_202720.jpg
    20261007_202720.jpg
    443.9 KB · Views: 4
  • 20261007_202802.jpg
    20261007_202802.jpg
    724.5 KB · Views: 5
  • 20261007_203012.jpg
    20261007_203012.jpg
    619.6 KB · Views: 4
20.12.1985
1.15 Fakenham, 3.15 Fakenham, 3.00 Kelso
 

Attachments

  • 20261007_204327.jpg
    20261007_204327.jpg
    471.3 KB · Views: 5
  • 20261007_204435.jpg
    20261007_204435.jpg
    471.8 KB · Views: 6
  • 20261007_204529.jpg
    20261007_204529.jpg
    497.1 KB · Views: 5
21.12.1985
3.15 Nottingham, 3.40 Chepstow, 12.45 Lingfield, 2.15 Lingfield.

That's 15 in total.
 

Attachments

  • 20261007_205456.jpg
    20261007_205456.jpg
    588 KB · Views: 6
  • 20261007_205744.jpg
    20261007_205744.jpg
    521.9 KB · Views: 6
  • 20261007_205910.jpg
    20261007_205910.jpg
    528.3 KB · Views: 5
  • 20261007_205954.jpg
    20261007_205954.jpg
    459.7 KB · Views: 5
Thanks Pitmatic Pitmatic I already had the 6 for VDW's selections, but it's good to have the other races in the period too.

I'm fairly sure VDW didn't look at the selling handicaps or the novice handicaps. He often referred to sellers as scrubber races and never seen an example where he chose a runner from sellers or claiming races. He also warned it would be unwise to rate Novice Handicap hurdles full of un knowns and he never as I recall gave an example in one of those either.
 
Back
Top