Timeform Daily View - Thursday preview and tips

Horse Racing

Wed November 11, 2026 · 9h ago

Timeform provide an overview of three things to note on Thursday.

Fortuna favours the brave

The Horse & Jockey Handicap Chase at Thurles (12:18) features 12 horses and 12 jockeys and does exactly what it says on the tin.

And the most interesting might just be Aurea Fortuna who has only the Listowel winner Potters Pal ahead of him on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings as he bids to bounce back from defeat as a favourite last time out.

Trained by Tony Martin, the seven-year-old wears cheekpieces for the first time as he bids to improve on a slightly one-paced third at Punchestown last month; they should help sharpen him up as he drops slightly in trip.

His record on right-handed tracks like Thurles is very strong – both of his wins have come this way round, as well as six of his eight best performances – and the return of Daniel King in the saddle is a positive; the seven-year-old has primarily been amateur rider-ridden of late, but King has previously been on board for five top-four finishes.

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Trainer Uplift flag for Lacey runner

Weight-adjusted ratings suggest that this should be a straightforward task for Governors Rock, a dual bumper winner who won well at Uttoxeter and then ran about as well as could be expected in a Cheltenham Grade 2 subsequently. He has 9 lb in hand of Moscow Star who still looked a work in progress when producing a much improved performance to be second at Sedgefield last month.

However, there’s an interesting filly – Thetype Istitle – who has her first start for Tom Lacey since leaving David Pipe which attracts the ‘Trainer Uplift’ flag.

The Feel Like Dancy filly was regressive in bumpers after a winning debut on fast ground, but showed a bit of promise fitted with a tongue tie for her hurdling debut at Plumpton in September.

She is from the family of the very smart hurdler/top-class chaser (stayed 25f) Outlander and useful hurdler/smart chaser (21f-3m winner) Now McGinty so is likely to be more of a handicapping project further down the line, but is one to keep an eye on with this ground clearly not an issue.

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Two from the top

There are only two ‘Horses In Focus’ on Thursday, one of which is also at Thurles: top-weight Fratas in the Book Your Christmas Party Here On December 19th Mares Handicap Hurdle (14:38).

Trained by Joseph O’Brien, the six-year-old mare was beaten only by a progressive rival when a gambled-on second at the Galway festival in July and arrives fit from the Flat. She looks interesting up in trip on just her second hurdles start since joining her new yard.

The other HIF is St Faz in Market Rasen’s PricedUp Bet Handicap Hurdle at 15:36. He has a little to find on ratings with bottom-weight Moutarde, but caught the eye in defeat when his jumping let him down in the Summer Plate at the course in July.

Given a break since that last run, and with a strong record on good ground over two miles, this former Gordon Elliott-trained six-year-old could be fairly treated (second off this mark over fences in 2025) on his return to action.

However, this race looks a tricky one, with ‘Horses For Courses’ flags held by Trust House (on his first start since leaving Olly Murphy) and Ballygeary, while the unexposed Time In A Bottle represents a Dan Skelton yard that unsurprisingly has the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag at present.