William Hill Racing League: Hayley Turner and Team ThoroughBid storm to the top of the table

Movers & Shakers

Team ThoroughBid wrestled the advantage from Swish Racing at the top of the William Hill Racing League Table, after an evening of action that produced several close finishes at Windsor.

Hayley Turner was again in top form and gave Andrew Balding’s Quickstep Lady a strong ride to take the second race. That winner was enough to displace Saffie Osborne at the top of the jockeys’ standings, a position the Team ThoroughBid rider went on to consolidate, taking home 67 points on the evening.

Goat Racing continued their good run of form, with Louis Steward winning the fourth race on Via Serendipity and two other placings which contributed to 69 points on the day, leaving them only 3 points off the lead in second place.

In what was the race of the day, Dark Lion came with a wet sail down the stands rail to get up in the shadows of the post. A win which catapulted Team TalkSPORT up the table to third, while rider Jack Mitchell maintained his challenge in the jockeys’ standings.

Team BullionVault were the top scorers of Week 4, recording an impressive 74 points, enough to carry them into contention for the title despite occupying only fifth place in the table.

There was little change at the bottom, with Teams Newmarket Red, Ireland and Arena continuing to struggle. However, it was better news for Remulate Racing as they registered their first winner of the competition, when Georgia Dobie just lasted home on Eve Johnson Haughton’s Sword Beach in the final race.

Who to watch in week 5

This week the William Hill Racing League returns to Lingfield, with four races on turf and two on the all-weather to look forward to. The competition is heating up at the top of the table, with only 16 points separating the first five teams, and Thursday evening’s action is not to be missed.

In the first race on the card (17:10) Leodis Dream and Grandfather Tom are both interesting, but they may be in competition for the early lead which could compromise their chances. Peerless is a hold-up horse who should be suited by coming from off a strong gallop. Ed Walker’s runner will need to improve now up in class but has looked progressive this season and could still be ahead of his mark. Peerless has won over this course and distance and gets on well with Saffie Osborne. He may represent Team Swish’s best chance of getting maximum points on the board.

Team ThoroughBid have a horse in Carolus Magnus (18:40) that can keep their current rich vein of form going. Andrew Balding’s runner was last sighted at Chelmsford in April when he produced a bold front-running display, only to go down by a neck at the line. The horse that beat him that day, Just Beautiful, has gone on to become a patterned class performer this season. Carolus Magnus now makes his handicap debut off a mark of 87, which judged on his novice form he may be up to defying. If ready to do himself justice back from a break, he should go close.

Rules Reminder

Each of the 12 teams has one runner in each of the six races, with each race being worth 100 points. The winner taking 25, the second taking home 18 and so on until you reach 10th place, who are awarded a solitary point. It is up to the teams and their managers to decide where they think their best horses have the best chance, just like any normal race, and come week 4 there will be a change to the roster of horses in order to keep legs fresh.

Throughout the six weeks, the six races are worth £50,000 in total, meaning over the course of the competition there will be a total of £1.8million distributed in prize money, but that’s not all. The winning team will benefit from a bonus of £150,000, so it really will pay to be at the top of that leaderboard when the time comes.

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