MattA147

Hi there, hope everyone is good. 
 
I know a lot of experienced punters that can recognise a certain type of horse such as a Grand National horse or a Gold Cup horse (not necessarily winning those races but runs in those sorts of races and is aimed at them) by how it’s campaigned as well as the key races and type of form that show that a horse is heading for the given race. 
 
How can I begin to learn or figure this out and the key races/type of form in the calendar for a given race? Or the look/type of form for the high class races?
 
I hope this made sense and any help would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Many thanks

Hi there, hope everyone is good. 
 
I know a lot of experienced punters that can recognise a certain type of horse such as a Grand National horse or a Gold Cup horse (not necessarily winning those races but runs in those sorts of races and is aimed at them) by how it’s campaigned as well as the key races and type of form that show that a horse is heading for the given race. 
 
How can I begin to learn or figure this out and the key races/type of form in the calendar for a given race? Or the look/type of form for the high class races?
 
I hope this made sense and any help would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Many thanks

Hi there, hope everyone is good. 
 
I know a lot of experienced punters that can recognise a certain type of horse such as a Grand National horse or a Gold Cup horse (not necessarily winning those races but runs in those sorts of races and is aimed at them) by how it’s campaigned as well as the key races and type of form that show that a horse is heading for the given race. 
 
How can I begin to learn or figure this out and the key races/type of form in the calendar for a given race? Or the look/type of form for the high class races?
 
I hope this made sense and any help would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Many thanks

Hi there, hope everyone is good. 
 
I know a lot of experienced punters that can recognise a certain type of horse such as a Grand National horse or a Gold Cup horse (not necessarily winning those races but runs in those sorts of races and is aimed at them) by how it’s campaigned as well as the key races and type of form that show that a horse is heading for the given race. 
 
How can I begin to learn or figure this out and the key races/type of form in the calendar for a given race? Or the look/type of form for the high class races?
 
I hope this made sense and any help would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Many thanks

The 'bridle' is the gear, leather straps etc, around the horses head which attach to the reins and allows the jockey to control the horse
You must consider that for 9/10ths of the race the jockey's job is to slow the horse down and save his energy for the business end of the race
A horse that is running 'on the bridle' is still being held back from going full speed by the jockey's hold on the reins
A horse that is running 'off the bridle' is one where the jockey has had to let go of his tight hold and allow the hose to run faster than the jockey ideally wants at the stage of the race. Generally this would be because he's struggling to keep up with the other horses that are still being ridden on the bridle. He's using up his energy to stay with the pack
Being ridden 'off the bridle' is generally a bad thing because it means the horse is generally going as fast as he can but will be overtaken or left behind in the finish by the horses that are still on the bridle and will  go faster when the jockey loosens his hold
At the end of the race most horses will be 'off the bridle' because the sprint for the line is on
As always there are some exceptions
Some horses are just what we consider lazy and need to be pushed and shoved along by the jockey most of the time...…. these will be described as 'off the bridle' but it's just the way they always run and even if held on to will tend not to find much extra when let off the bridle
Sometimes a horse will win very easily and never come 'off the bridle'' ….. the commentators will get very exciting about this because it leads to the thought that they could run a lot faster if the jockey let them off the bridle. You'll hear descriptions like 'he won hard held' ' the jockey had a double handful' …… both mean that the horse won even though the jockey was still holding him back
Double handful = two hands pulling tightly on the reins to stop the horse going faster

Not at all, I am a Uni student though. I am relatively new to horse racing, I’ve read lots of beginners guides and books both online and in print and tried my best to immerse myself in the sport. I am a very enthusiastic beginner looking to learn as much as I can from those more experienced. 
What I lack (probably due to my age as I’m only 21) are people to chat with and ask questions about horse racing. So when I have questions about something I haven’t quite understood, want to chat about a topic
or whether the approach I’m taking is the most sensible I turn to punters lounge. 

Not at all, I am a Uni student though. I am relatively new to horse racing, I’ve read lots of beginners guides and books both online and in print and tried my best to immerse myself in the sport. I am a very enthusiastic beginner looking to learn as much as I can from those more experienced. 
What I lack (probably due to my age as I’m only 21) are people to chat with and ask questions about horse racing. So when I have questions about something I haven’t quite understood, want to chat about a topic
or whether the approach I’m taking is the most sensible I turn to punters lounge. 

All that's coming to PL in 2019.  

That’s fantastic, thank you for your response! I’ll be sure to keep it all in mind. Thanks again and have an excellent day. 
Matt

Thank you everyone for your very helpful replies, I will be taking all of the information and suggestions on board.