As you might expect, when you’re digging in dark statistical corners, you occasionally unearth a shard of old pottery which makes you understand that the Trojans had possibly invented Toblerone. Thus it was that I uncovered this small gem, that suggests that Handicap Hurdlers do what they do best before the Festival, which is race in Hurdle races.
Fact: There have been to date 82 Festival Handicap Hurdle races since 2003. In 73 of those races, 212 horses took part whose last race was either a Chase, Bumper, AWT or Flat race. Only 1 of those 212 horses (0.47%) won for a £186 loss and 19 were placed for a loss of £284.25 e/w. The A/E is 0.12%
Rule: Any horse running in a Handicap Hurdle at The Festival who ran in any type of race BUT a Hurdle race LTO can be ignored.
