KOTTAYAM caught the eye in the preliminaries at Uttoxeter before running into the places at a big price, and although a faller on her next start at Market Rasen, she ran to the Uttoxeter form at Sedgefield next time and confirmed the impression that she ought to win races at a lowly level. Her owners have taken the interesting decision to move her from Pat Neville to the stable of Dylan Cunha after failing to meet expectations last time, and that looks a significant move.
The syndicate did exactly the same with Mahons Glory last year after he rather lost his way for Neville and a move to Cunha did the trick, the horse winning a couple of handicap chases straight away for his new yard. They’re clearly hoping Cunha can work the same magic with Kottayam and if he can, she must have a solid chance in a weak contest.
There’s no standout on form here, so the question is which of these is open to most improvement and I’m fairly certain the answer to that is CHARLOTTE CORDAY. The daughter of Cracksman was only seventh of 9 on debut at Pontefract but was pretty clueless as to what was required and it took her almost the whole race to get the hang of racing. Despite that, she wasn’t beaten far at the finish and promises to improve hugely for the experience of racing for the first time. Her stable has a 19% strike-rate with juveniles second time out, and backing all of them to a tenner at SP would put punters ahead to the tune of £190.50, with Charlotte Corday very much fitting the brief of a two-year-old who will progress for initial experience.
The figures for Ed Walker get better when considering all horses have their second start for the yard, with the strike-rate rising to 24% and the profit markedly up to £424.50 for a tenner at SP and £671 at Betfair SOP for the same stake. Walker is nearing the end of his most successful season to date, and his horses have maintained their good form through the year, making Charlotte Corday an appealing bet.
SOHO SQUARE is one who took the eye last year as the type to progress with time, and she duly won first time up at Newcastle this term to justify the notebook inclusion. She then finished last of eight on her only other start at Sandown back in June, and hasn’t run since, suggesting there may have been a physical reason behind that
She’s also had a change of yard, now with Ed Bethell having left James Fanshawe. Bethell can ready them first time out from another stable with a record of 5-13 this year for a level stakes profit and a near 25% strike rate with stable switchers since he was first granted a licence.
Preview posted 0920 BST on 07/10/25
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at and .