Sly Man's Horses to Watch — Friday 17 July 2026
Five names off today's card. Not the headline favourites — the ones with a story the form book half-mentions.
Five worth watching today. Read the rating, read the angle, then make up your own mind. I'm the wiry one in the silks reading form on a tablet while the favourites warm up — here's what's caught my eye.
Badri
Michael Herrington is firing at 29% over the last 30 days and Badri sits top of the card on SR 97 — that's not a coincidence, that's a stable sending one out ready. Five signals aligned here, and at 3/1 this is the one worth marking before the off.
- Michael Herrington — 29% strike rate last 30d (7/24)
- SR 97 — top of the card
- 5 independent signals aligned
Six signals lining up behind one horse at 5/4 is not noise — that is a pattern, and Law Of Average is running at a career-best SR of 89 to go with it. Chelsea Banham is firing at 25% over the last 30 days, and Joey Haynes gets the call for the 20:25 at Hamilton.
- SR 89 — near career best (89)
- Chelsea Banham — 25% strike rate last 30d (3/12)
- 6 independent signals aligned
Herrington is firing at 29% over the last 30 days and Powdering rocks up to Newmarket running an SR of 89 — within three points of her career best. Five signals aligned on one runner at 5/1 is exactly the kind of confluence that earns a line in the book.
- Michael Herrington — 29% strike rate last 30d (7/24)
- SR 89 — near career best (92)
- 5 independent signals aligned
Five signals pointing the same direction and a career-best Speed Rating of 100 — Turty Tree is running the race of his life right now. Murphy in the plate and Balding sending him out in career-best form at 5/4 is exactly the kind of alignment that puts a horse on the watchlist.
- SR 100 — near career best (97)
- SR 100 — top of the card
- 5 independent signals aligned
Four signals pointing the same direction and Appleby firing at 24% over the last month — Cerro Blanco sits at the top of this card on SR 106 for a reason. At 1/25 the market has already done the talking, so this one's on the watchlist purely to track the performance, not the price.
- Charlie Appleby — 24% strike rate last 30d (9/38)
- SR 106 — top of the card
- 4 independent signals aligned