Sly Man's Horses to Watch — Thursday 6 August 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.
Thursday Girl
Thursday Girl is running at SR 92 — one point off her career best of 93 — and Ed Walker's yard is firing at 24% over the last 30 days, so the form and the stable are both pointing the same way. The market has already clocked it, money coming in with no drift, and at 7/2 this one is firmly on the watchlist.
- SR 92 — near career best (93)
- Ed Walker — 24% strike rate last 30d (20/83)
- Money coming — strict-majority steamer, no drifters
Appleby's running hot at 34% over the last month and Loughnane has 34 wins from 139 rides in the same window — this combination at the top of the card on SR 106 is hard to ignore. At 1/20 the market has already made its mind up, but the trainer-jockey heat behind this one is real.
- Charlie Appleby — 34% strike rate last 30d (15/44)
- Billy Loughnane — 24% strike rate last 30d (34/139)
- SR 106 — top of the card
Joseph Patrick O'Brien is firing at 24% over his last 140 runs, DBM is finding the winner at 23% across 107 rides, and the market is already steaming — that's three signals pointing the same direction on a 14/1 shot. Jesus Green doesn't need to be a certainty to be worth watching at that price.
- Dylan Browne McMonagle — 23% strike rate last 30d (25/107)
- Joseph Patrick O'Brien — 24% strike rate last 30d (33/140)
- Money coming — strict-majority steamer, no drifters
Loughnane is striking at 24% over the last 30 days and Clover is right behind him at 23%, so this yard and saddle are running hot at the same time. The market has clocked it too — strict-majority money coming for Crown And Two at 2/1 is a hard combination to walk past.
- Billy Loughnane — 24% strike rate last 30d (34/139)
- Tom Clover — 23% strike rate last 30d (8/35)
- Money coming — strict-majority steamer, no drifters
Oliver Cole is firing at 22% this past month and Demonstrate sits top of the card on SR — that combination at 25/1 is what gets the tablet out. The money is already moving in without a single drifter in sight, which tells you the market knows something too.
- Oliver Cole — 22% strike rate last 30d (5/23)
- Money coming — strict-majority steamer, no drifters
- SR 126 — top of the card