Identifying progressive horses

[scotty657]

One thing that always interests me is progressive runners and a lot of big time punters speak about looking out for progressive types, but how do we identify exactly if a horse is progressing? Is it simply a case of horses which are going up in the official ratings? Or do we need to read further into form? Or is it down to age? I mean we've seen older horses suddenly turn a new leaf and go well up in the weights. Down to moving yards and trips maybe? Thought it would good to write our thoughts on this. For me at the moment it's pretty simple I'll look for a younger horse that is still ahead of the handicapper and putting in good, solid displays. Always make sure the trainer is in some sort of form at the time aswell then judge how close I think it can be to the more established types there could be in a race. Like to try and see how the trainers colts and fillys start their racing life too.

[Blazing Bailey]

Re: Identifying progressive horses I agree about the younger horses. Generally when I look at handicaps (on the flat) I will restrict my bets to 3 or 4 year olds or lightly raced types. However there will be certain times where I find a different angle (maybe stable change, ground, trip, headgear) and I will consider them no matter how old they are. The main way I identify them is by using TopSpeed ratings. Generally a progressive horse will clock a decent time somewhere along the line and that's when it will catch my attention.