Thursday's racing: Stat of the day, French raider at Carlisle and a six-time course winner

Thursday’s racing: Stat of the day, French raider at Carlisle and a six-time course winner

Liam Bramall

Published: October 21, 2026

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

Dan Skelton is 3/4 with bumper newcomers at Carlisle and he will be represented in their closing race on Thursday, so we’ve assessed the horse in question’s chances. There’s also an intriguing French raider heading over to Carlisle for their feature contest, who is well worth taking a look at. One runner on Thursday is a six-time winner at the Cumbria track and therefore has to go under consideration. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

New Customer offer - Use promo code YSKAST. Place a min £5 bet on the sportsbook at odds of min EVS (2.0) and get £30 in free bets. Free bet rewards valid for 30 days. Only deposits via Pay by Bank, Debit Cards & Apple Pay will qualify for this offer. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly

CLAIM

Stat of the day

A 75 per cent strike-rate certainly isn’t to be sniffed at, so Dan Skelton’s record of 3/4 with bumper newcomers at Carlisle is worth considering. With that in mind, his representative is making his debut under rules in the finale and we’ve taken a look at the horse in question’s chances.

Crystal Spectre was second in a point-to-point for previous connections and it’s notable that he has since joined a powerful yard. Dan Skelton is firing in winners left, right and centre at the moment so it would be no surprise to see him making a winning start to his career under rules.

Crystal Spectre

Analysis

null

Course specialist alert

Few horses know their way around Carlisle better than Hello Judge, who has six wins and two seconds to his name in 12 previous starts at the track. Trainer Ann Hamilton’s course record is also eye-catching, so it would be unwise to rule out a return to winning ways for the useful veteran 10-year-old.

Hello Judge

Analysis

null

French raider at Carlisle

Inner Success represents French trainer Mickael Seror and he is heading over to Carlisle for the Listed Panoramic Hurdle. The son of Success Days was second in a Listed contest at Clairefontaine in August but probably has a bit to find in this relatively warm race. Don’t completely rule him out however.