5 horses who will relish soft ground on Boxing Day!

Cepage wins at Kempton under Charlie Deutsch

With Christmas fast approaching, the weather has certainly taken a turn for the worse. All of the venues hosting the festive action, including Wetherby and Leopardstown, are expecting further rain on Wednesday and beyond.

Finding horses who love softer ground conditions will be crucial if the weather does continue to pour down. We’ve hunted through the festive cards and have found five horses who will thrive if the conditions are on the testing side.

All our horse racing tips will be up soon, but you can find the five horses below!

12.20 Wetherby – Quick Pick

With all of his best form coming on softer surfaces, Quick Pick has excellent claims on Boxing Day for Jennie Candlish. Both his hurdling victories have come on soft ground at Sedgefield and all three of his 2020 runs have come on the same surface or worse.

He was a very good third at Sedgefield earlier this month on just his second chasing start and with just a two-pound rise to contend with, he’s surely going close under Lilly Punchin, who claims a valuable five pounds.

2.05 Wetherby – The Dutchman

Previously trained by Colin Tizzard, The Dutchman won the 2018 Peter Marsh in dire conditions. Now trained by Tristan Davidson, he was having his first start for 931 days when down the field at Wetherby in October.

He built on that performance to finish a head second at Haydock earlier this month and a five-pound rise for that is more than fair. He loves a slog in the mud and remains unexposed as a marathon stayer. With headgear now enlisted, a big run has to be anticipated.

2.15 Leopardstown – Blackbow

A very smart bumper horse, Blackbow was a shade disappointing over hurdles last term, failing to score in four attempts. He went close on three occasions, however, all on softer surfaces.

Switching to chasing has worked the oracle and he was a dominant winner at Navan last month on debut. He beat a useful field with the minimum of fuss, gliding through the mud. With similar conditions expected on Boxing Day, he’s an obvious candidate for Willie Mullins.

2.35 Limerick – Asterion Forlonge

With his sole defeat on softer ground coming when fourth in the Supreme, Asterion Forlonge will relish the challenge on Boxing Day. A very smart hurdler, he made a successful switch to chasing with a dominant success at Punchestown last month.

He did make some mistakes, but it’s to be expected of a novice and he can only improve for the experience. He sets a daunting standard in this Grade 1 contest and should pass the test with flying colours.

3.07 Limerick – Chalky White

With his sole victory coming at Thurles earlier this year on soft to heavy going, Chalky White has run well in two recent heavy ground events at Gowran and Clonmel.

The latter occasion was over hurdles, beaten just two lengths off today’s rating. A return to chasing will suit and with the expected rain in his favour, another big run has to be expected under Brian Hayes.