Sly Man's Jockeys Taking Aim — Saturday 18 July 2026
The riders I'm watching today — the loaded books, the marquee bookings, the form jocks pinging the radar.
Five riders worth watching today. A loaded book is a market signal in itself — when a form jock has multiple chances, the yard sees the day as live. I read the diaries with one eye on the silks, one on the trainer form. Here's what's caught my eye.
⚡ Tom Marquand holds the pen on Vollering in the 15:37 Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury — that is Mr Fox's marquee pick and it lands the day's biggest spotlight squarely on his shoulders. Then he rolls straight into the 16:12 aboard Manaar, a horse carrying a speed rating of 156, which means Marquand's afternoon at Newbury is the one card worth keeping open on your screen.
- Fox's pick in the 15:37 Newbury
- Booked in Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes (GBB Race) at 15:37
- On Manaar (SR 156) in the 16:12
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13:55
Oceans Four T: Brian Meehan11/2 Race at 13:55
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14:25
Ride The Thunder T: Roger Varian5/2 🥉 3rd
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15:02
Binhareer T: William Haggas3/1 4th
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15:37
Vollering T: Archie Watson7/1 🦊 6th
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16:12
Manaar T: William Haggas5/4 🥈 2nd
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16:47
California School T: Roger Varian17/2 6th
William Buick
⚡ William Buick is arriving at this card red-hot — five winners in the last seven days off a career strike rate that already sits at 20% across 328 rides. Get him onside in the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at 15:37; this is the booking the casual racegoer scrolled straight past.
- 5 winners in the last 7 days
- 20% career strike rate (328 rides)
- Booked in Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes (GBB Race) at 15:37
- 13:55 Al Zanati 5/2 Race at 13:55
- 14:25 Bahadur 11/2 7th
- 15:02 Symbol Of Honour 4/1 🏆 WON
- 15:37 Bint Archange 4/1 9th
- 16:12 Miss Scott 10/11 🏆 WON
- 16:47 Sayid Harry Angel 11/1 10th
Rossa Ryan
⚡ Rossa Ryan is red-hot right now — seven winners in the last seven days is a purple patch that demands your attention across all six of his rides today. The standout booking is Rapid Deployment (SR 138) in the 16:47, but don't sleep on his Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes pitch at 15:37 either; a man this warm finds winners in places the front page never looks.
- 7 winners in the last 7 days
- Booked in Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes (GBB Race) at 15:37
- On Rapid Deployment (SR 138) in the 16:47
- 13:55 Midak 25/1 Race at 13:55
- 14:25 Baileys Khelstar 9/2 6th
- 15:02 Song Of The Clyde 5/1 7th
- 15:37 Wait Geordie 80/1 8th
- 16:47 Rapid Deployment 16/1 5th
- 17:20 New Vega 4/1 5th
Hector Crouch
⚡ Hector Crouch is as warm as he gets right now — three winners in the last seven days and a 23% strike rate at Newmarket July that puts him well above his career average of 17%. Necromancer at the 14:30 is the one to watch, a 150-rated mount that tells you the yard trusts Crouch when the stakes are real.
- 3 winners in the last 7 days
- On Necromancer (SR 150) in the 14:30
- 23% strike rate at Newmarket (July) (5 from 22)
- 14:30 Necromancer 5/1 5th
- 15:05 Revoir 5/2 5th
- 16:17 Lili Marleen 28/1 Pulled up
- 16:52 Ziggy's Avenger 11/2 Race at 16:52
- 17:25 Astrazar 10/3 🥈 2nd
Cieren Fallon
⚡ Cieren Fallon arrives with two winners already banked in the last seven days and a career strike rate sitting at a rock-solid 20% across 735 rides — this is a jockey in form, not one coasting on reputation. The booking that matters is Caravel in the 14:30, a mount with a speed rating of 144 that the headline tipsters have somehow walked past.
- 2 winners in the last 7 days
- 20% career strike rate (735 rides)
- On Caravel (SR 144) in the 14:30
- 14:30 Caravel 17/2 7th
- 15:05 Orionis 15/2 🥉 3rd
- 16:17 Dashing Dick 11/1 5th
- 16:52 Madjid 5/2 🏆 WON
- 17:25 Lady Mariko 10/1 6th