The Talking Horses Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This week in Deep Ground we discuss race pace.  Why is it important?  How can you spot how fast horses are going in race?  How does that heighten the enjoyment of watching a race and improve your chances if you're having a bet? And is the viewing experience as good as it could be?  One thing is for sure, it's great way to get more of an idea of what goes in the minds of...

Send us Fan Mail This week we take a look at the well publicised changes to jumps racing's biggest prize, the Grand National.  We review the debate as we left it at the end of season 2, highlight the changes that the Jockey Club announced in mid-October and review how they've been received and what impact they may have moving forwards. Then in this week's Antepost Angle we move on f...

Send us Fan Mail This week in Deep Ground we decided to have a look behind the curtain at just what the hell goes on across the pond once a year that justifies the likes of Gordon Elliott, Shark Hanlon, Willie Mullins & Nicky Henderson sending top horses across to compete.  It's the American Grand National!  It may have come and gone for another year but in this episode we're serving...

Send us Fan Mail We're back for another wonderful season of NH racing and our 3rd season of The Talking Horses Podcast!  Thanks to those that have been on the journey with us so far and welcome to those who are joining us here.  We're super excited to be back! We kick off the new season of the podcast as we did last year with our horses to follow for the season ahead, except this year we...

Send us Fan Mail It's been a wonderful season of jumps racing and this week we look back at it through the medium of our inaugural end of season awards!  But not before we reflect on the debate that's emerged in the last week about the Grand National and whether, ultimately, it can continue in its current guise in today's world. We hand out awards to horse of the year, race of the y...

Send us Fan Mail This week we follow on from last week's point to point episode with a bumper episode...and no that does not mean a particularly long one but in fact an episode in which we focus on "bumpers", also known as National Hunt flat races.  We ask what they are, why they exist and why there's an increasingly strong voice to reduce the number of bumpers or even remove t...

Send us Fan Mail This week we ask ourselves, what is the point in Point to Point racing?  Where did it start, what exactly is it and how does it differ to what we see on TV, where does it take place and which horses from Point to Point backgrounds performed at the very highest level at this year's Cheltenham Festival? In our antepost angle, we then have a look ahead to Good Monday's Iris...

Send us Fan Mail This week we start getting excited about the jewel in the National Hunt Racing crown, the Grand National at Aintree.   We dive into the history of the race, look at the unique nature of the course and highlight how the race conditions have developed in recent years before applying the key trends of recent winners to select a shortlist of 4 horses for this year's renewal that...

Send us Fan Mail Cheltenham Festival 2023 - you were wonderful. This week Ben and Bruno look back on a fantastic four days at Prestbury Park and reflect on the festival as a whole from attendances to the racegoer experience before looking ahead to next year's Festival where we bring you three each to consider backing now for 12 months' time. And yes, there is life after Cheltenham.  This...

Send us Fan Mail This week we get stuck into why different racecourses suit certain horses, including some jargon busting of some of the more confusing terminology, and which racecourses bear the greatest similarities to Cheltenham in order to try and shed some light on which non-Cheltenham form might lead one towards Festival winners. We then go through each of the four days of next week's N...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we get stuck into the meaty topic of National Hunt pedigree including the leading NH Sires and the rise of the French Stallions, particularly evident in their dominant showing at the Dublin Racing Festival.  We discuss the differences in the profiles of the leading Stallions in the UK/Ire vs France, the impact of gene pools and prize money, and why it might be that ther...

Send us Fan Mail This week we're delighted to welcome back friend of the podcast Will Mort from Pat Whelan racing to talk all things antepost betting, but from the Bookmaker's perspective.  How do bookies price up antepost markets?  Are bookies too quick thee days to cut horses for antepost targets?  When is the best time to start building an antepost book and how do you find value? Mort...

Send us Fan Mail We're back this week with a review of the whirlwind of top class National Hunt racing that was last weekend's Dublin Racing Festival, including 3 horses each to take out, our Cheltenham Banker and our predictions of the number of winners last weekend will produce in March (spoiler - we're predicting it to be fruitful!). We then take a look ahead in our Antepost Angl...

Send us Fan Mail It's one bumper preview special after another at the moment!   Straight off the back of last week's Cheltenham Trials Day preview special, we're back this week with a look ahead to another delicious weekend of racing at Leopardstown in its own right but certainly with a view to the Cheltenham Festival too.   We get stuck into 8 races across the two days, discussing...

Send us Fan Mail This week Ben & Bruno get stuck into this weekend's monster 9 race Trials Day card at Cheltenham, highlighting the races that tend to be pointers to big festival performances in March and some horses to take seriously on Saturday. They then have a look at the three mares races at the Cheltenham Festival - the Grade 1 Mares Hurdle on the Tuesday, the Grade 2 Mares Novices...

Send us Fan Mail This week Ben & Bruno try and unpick what's at play with a meagre three confirmations last Monday for one of the premier races of the National Hunt calendar, the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, now hopefully being rescheduled to Cheltenham Trials Day after Ascot was abandoned during the recording of this episode! They then try and unpick the complex tapestry of the novice...

Send us Fan Mail This week the boys consider syndicate ownership – What is it?  How does it work?  What syndicates’ silks might you have seen on big race days without knowing?  What’s the attraction?    They then look ahead to the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham in March with a couple each for the shortlist, one of which is mutual and makes plenty of each way antepost appeal, before wrapping up with...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's "Deep Ground" we discuss the concept and merits of doing your own "tissue" for a race and have a go at doing our own for this Saturday's Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown, hopefully finding some serious value in the process! This week's Antepost Angle features the Novice Hurdlers Class of 2023 and the names we have at the top of o...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's "Deep Ground" the boys are trying to get under the skin of what makes a great ride.  They look at three examples from previous Cheltenham Festivals and try to identify what made those widely acclaimed rides so special. This week's Antepost Angle features the 2023 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.  In light of recent news that all is not 1...

Send us Fan Mail The boys are back and in this week's "Deep Ground" they're taking a look at antepost betting - What is it, why is it so popular and how does one go about making it pay? Fittingly, the "Antepost Angle" feature returns again this week and the focus turns to jumps racing's blue ribband event, the Cheltenham Gold Cup!  Ben and Bruno pick out three ea...

Send us Fan Mail This week the boys endeavour to lift the mist that can descend over the Christmas period where the racing comes thick and fast.  It's often said that "the picture is clearer after Christmas" and so Ben and Bruno pick out the top level races from either side of the Irish Sea that are likely to have the biggest bearing on the second half of this National Hunt season,...

Send us Fan Mail This week the boys look back on the events of last weekend at Ascot and ask why is good ground not good for national hunt race horses? They then have a quick recap on their horses to follow for this season and how they're looking a couple of months in to the season before a quick look at tomorrow's Coral Gold Cup and then a weekend selection each from Newbury on Saturday...

Send us Fan Mail This week the boys dedicate the entire episode to three of the best days of jumps racing in the season, the Cheltenham November Meeting. Bruno has done some sparkling research to give us a fascinating background on the history of Cheltenham Racecourse and this meeting in particular, following which the key races of the meeting are scrutinised in terms of those which are most likel...

Send us Fan Mail This week Ben & Bruno discuss the problem with too much racing, in light of last weekend's farcical walkover for Pentland Hills in a novice chase at Huntingdon, and what's being done about it   They then follow up last week's Antepost Angle with a look at the other of the two big Cheltenham November meeting handicaps, the Greatwood Hurdle, won last year by West...

Send us Fan Mail In light of last week's Safer Gambling week, this week Ben and Bruno discuss their own approaches to and feelings about punting and what they've learned over the years.   They then look ahead to one of the hottest handicaps of the early part of the jumps season, the Paddy Power Gold Cup at the Cheltenham November won last year by the legend but sadly ill-fated Midnight S...