1200 × 600
Every beaten favourite comes with a story. Slowly away. Short of room. Travelled well and didn't get home. Read enough race comments and you can find an excuse for almost anything.
The trouble is that everyone else reads them too. By the time the horse runs again, the excuse is in the price.
So an excuse on its own never gets a horse on my list. What I want is a reason the next race is different.
Take a horse that travelled well and faded late over a mile and a half. That's an excuse. If it now drops back to a mile and a quarter, that's a change. The thing that beat it last time might not be there today.
Or a horse that ran well against a strong field and still got beaten. If it now meets a weaker lot, that's a change too.
Then there's the price. A horse can tick every box and still be too short, because the market has seen the same thing. Those get left out as well. It's not enough to be right about the horse. The price has to leave something in it for you.
That's most of what the Shortlist is. Fancied horses, but only the ones where something has changed and the price still makes sense. Most favourites never make it.
See exactly what I do for two weeks.
For only £5.
Every bet I make, by email each racing morning, with the stake and my line on why. Pay £5 today, then £49 for the winter pass unless you cancel before day 15.
I email you before the charge. Cancel with one email back. Nothing renews after 31 March. Full details.