Sporting Life
Get today's Horses In Focus

Horse In Focus tips for Thursday: Eye-catchers chosen by Timeform experts

By Timeform
Horse Racing
Thu November 20, 2025 · 1M ago

Find out which runners on Thursday caught the eye of the Timeform reporters last time and were awarded the Horse In Focus Flag.

What is a Horse In Focus?

Every performance in Britain and Ireland is closely scrutinised by the expert race readers at Timeform whose tasks include identifying horses that shaped better than the result. Some of these eye-catchers will be awarded the Horse In Focus Flag.

A Horse In Focus comes in many forms, from a promising maiden winner to a veteran handicapper, but the common denominator is the same: the way the horse shaped suggests it’s likely to be something to back next time.

All of the day's Horses In Focus can be found within this article, which also includes a best bet selected by a member of the Timeform Sporting Life team.

The Timeform Flags also appear on the Racecards + section, available for Sporting Life Plus members, on Sporting Life racecards.

Thursday's Horses In Focus

For more on each horse, logged-in readers can head to today's racecards and click the Horse In Focus dropdown.

Lingfield

Age of Time – 11:10

10
2
Age Of Timep23
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-6| J: D Egan| T: Ian Williams| OR:  62
5/4

Tortured Soul – 11:10

6
7
Tortured Soul12
Age: 5|  Weight: 9-10| J: Jack Doughty| T: A W Carroll| OR:  66| CD
9/2

Sky Safari – 14:30

4
3
Sky Safarit75
Age: 4|  Weight: 9-2| J: Daniel Muscutt| T: J R Fanshawe| OR:  97| D
2/1

Newcastle

Sibyl Charm – 19:15

2
4
Sibyl Charm16
Age: 5|  Weight: 9-9| J: Mohammed Tabti(5)| T: I Jardine| OR:  60| BF| CD
3/1

Warwick

Loaded And Locked – 12:35

8
Loaded And Locked36
Age: 5|  Weight: 11-4| J: J J Burke| T: Miss E C Lavelle| OR:  -| D
6/1

Pismo Beach – 13:10

7
Pismo Beach40
Age: 5|  Weight: 11-2| J: Charlie Hammond| T: S Edmunds| OR:  108
4/1

Sunday Soldier – 14:55

2
Sunday Soldierp24
Age: 7|  Weight: 11-8| J: Kielan Woods| T: D Killahena & G McPherson| OR:  114| D
9/2

Wincanton

Merry Monty – 15:20

8
Merry Monty20
Age: 8|  Weight: 10-11| J: Bryan Carver| T: C J Down| OR:  93
7/1

Thurles

William Tell – 12:50

5
William Tellt108
Age: 6|  Weight: 11-10| J: Cian Quirke| T: D H Kelly| OR:  112
15/2

Dairy Force – 14:00

9
Dairy Forceh28
Age: 6|  Weight: 11-4| J: Donagh Meyler| T: Liam G O'brien| OR:  102
5/1

Pourquoi Poi – 14:00

12
Pourquoi Poi37
Age: 4|  Weight: 10-13| J: Jack Kennedy| T: P W Flynn| OR:  98| D
3/1

Lamby Island – 14:35

2
Lambay Island35
Age: 5|  Weight: 11-11| J: Darragh O'Keeffe| T: H De Bromhead| OR:  109| BF
5/1

Thursday's Best Bet

SIBYL CHARM - 19:15 Newcastle

2
4
Sibyl Charm16
Age: 5|  Weight: 9-9| J: Mohammed Tabti(5)| T: I Jardine| OR:  60| BF| CD
3/1

SIBLY CHARM is a regular at Newcastle and has three wins to her name at this track, including one over this course and distance.

She hasn't been shaping too badly at this venue of late, either, but she caught the eye also back on turf at Redcar earlier this month, coming in for some strong support and unlucky not to finish closer.

Sibyl Charm was shuffled back on the rail that day as others began to mount their challenge, meeting trouble on more than one occasion, but finishing her race to good effect once in the clear. She is back down to her last winning mark now and will be a major player if building on her latest run.

More from Sporting Life

Safer gambling

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 / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.