News Archive: a valuable tool to aid your punting

BEING up to date with the latest news is a vital part of keeping on top of the form and I have lost count of the number of times I have come across little gems of information from connections that are hidden within news stories, either in the newspaper or on the website.

This is where the news archive on the Racing Post website comes into its own. With a search facility that goes back as far as June 1998 there is a huge amount of information held and that is vital for the punter when looking at future plans for horses.

As a big fan of the Ten to Follow competition I like to know where my potential selections are going to be seen in the coming season and nine times out of ten connections will have outlined running plans in a story in the Racing Post. By simply typing into the news archive the name of the horse, trainer, owner or jockey there is a strong chance there will be a link to the horse you are looking for.

News Archive - dating back to June 1998

The news archive is also a useful tool for form study as the reactions of connections straight after the race can often be telling and the bigger the race, the better the coverage.

A good example of this came when I was researching potential Grand National horses for this season's Ten to Follow list. I simply typed in last year's winner Ballabriggs into the news archive search and it brought up every story related to the world's greatest steeplechase that was published on the Racing Post platforms.

This led me to a story on the Stuart Crawford-trained Killyglen, who came down at the fourth-last when apparently travelling well in last season's race, and there was further encouragement from National-winning rider Robbie Power, who appeared convinced he had plenty left in the tank prior to the fall.

After reviewing the race on the video archive Killyglen does appear to be travelling extremely well when unshipping Power and it goes without saying that the nine-year-old is now high up on the shortlist for next year's feature.

I must admit to having had a few shillings on the former Howard Johnson inmate on the back of that and, while plenty of luck will be needed, let's hope I'll be typing the name Killyglen into the news archive when I'm searching for National horses this time next year.

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