Video Form Guide: why seeing is believing

THERE is no better way to get a feel for a race than to see the runners in action and the video form guide on the Racing Post website is an excellent starting point when looking for galloping clues.

The guide is a short film showing the best recent piece of form recorded by the runners in each race and this is available for every race, every day throughout the year.

It is by no means a comprehensive guide and further form study is required to reach a firm conclusion but, with virtually every race available to view in each horse's form, it is easy to jot down the name of any horse who has impressed you and do some follow up research.

A good recent example of how the video form guide can help came when assessing a race at Lingfield on Tuesday, won by the Venetia Williams trained 4-1 chance Renard. The Williams string has been under a cloud for some time but a quick view of the form guide diverted my attention from the poor overall form of the yard and on to the sheer ability Renard had shown when winning six days earlier.

The six-year-old had produced a commanding display from the front, looking in full control over the last couple of fences before powering away to score comfortably.

Video Form Guide - give yourself the best chance for the jumps

A quick glance to the right of the screen gave me a rundown of the course, distance and going for the race and, having seen that the ground was described as soft, it became clear I would need to do further research as the quicker ground at Lingfield was a potential problem. However, a look at his form revealed that he had won on good ground in France and, after seeing how easily he'd won at Chepstow, a 7lb penalty was no great concern. Having tipped him to Racing Post members on the Tipping Today show it was pleasing to see him land the odds, not least because it was some compensation to those who had backed my other tip, Flinty Bay, at Sedgefield. I had confidently stated he was a certainty but he took a crashing fall with the race at his mercy two out.

You can't get them all right, but the video form guide will certainly help.

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