Trainer trends crucial to unlocking big handicap profits

Big Flat handicaps come thick and fast in this busy period of the season and, as the attractive prize-money on offer makes them prime targets, trainer records need to be considered when attempting to find the winners of these races.

The Coral Challenge Handicap won by the William Knight-trained Secret Art at Sandown six days ago is one of the more valuable mile handicaps of the season and before the latest running, out of the trainers who had runners in last Saturday’s race, the one with the best record was Andrew Balding, who has trained two winners this century: Pentecost (SP of 20-1 in 2004) and Highland Knight (10-1 in 2011).

Although Balding failed to land another win last Saturday, those who take heed of trainer trends and backed either of his two runners can have no complaints. Highland Colori was the second biggest-priced of the 15 runners at 25-1 but outran those odds by finishing third, rewarding his each-way supporters, and he finished just a neck in front of stablemate Melvin The Grate, who was also a decent price at 14-1 and narrowly failed to make the frame.