Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap – Wolverhampton (AW)

Wolverhampton (AW)

18:30

Read Meg Nicholls' Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap

Date 2026-01-02

Distance 7f36y

Class Class 5

Going Standard

Type Flat

Surface AW

Age Band 4yo+

Prize £3,716

Rain 100%

Winning Time 1m 29.27s (slow by 3.07s)

Result

Pos	Horse	SP	Btn
1st	Chifa (IRE) Luke Morris · Ed de Giles	13/8F	Won
2nd	Landlordtothestars (IRE) Charles Bishop · James Evans	15/2	1
3rd	Al Hofzan (IRE) William Cox · Georgina Nicholls	18/1	0.2
4th	Straight A (GB) Alistair Rawlinson · Michael Appleby	9/4	.5
5th	River Wharfe (GB) Matthew Lloyd Slater · Tony Carroll	16/1	2.25
6th	Adelaide Bay (GB) William Carson · Thomas Faulkner	50/1	2
7th	Arnaz (GB) Cieren Fallon · Mark Loughnane	4/1	3.5

Runners (7)

EW Terms: 2 places, ¼ odds (standard bookmaker terms — may vary)

#	Horse	Jockey / Trainer	Wt	Gear	Form	OR	RPR	TS	Last	Crs	Dst	Val	Scr	EW	Odds
2 (4)	Chifa Grey J:Luke Morris T:Ed de Giles	J:Luke Morris T:Ed de Giles	134	—	64221-	69	81	66	34d	—	—	-2	31.4	0.41/1	13/8 38%
Won cosily over C&D five weeks ago but a 6lb rise asks a stiffer question
1 (5)	Straight A Bay J:Alistair Rawlinson T:Michael Appleby	J:Alistair Rawlinson T:Michael Appleby	135	—	98526-	70	86	61	27d	—	—	-7	15.2	0.69/1	11/4 27%
Finished behind reopposing rivals over C&D on last two starts; still likely to be involved
3 (3)	Arnaz Bay J:Cieren Fallon T:Mark Loughnane	J:Cieren Fallon T:Mark Loughnane	134	t	43274-	69	83	67	27d	—	—	-6	13.9	0.88/1	7/2 22%
Frustrating sort but his stable debut was encouraging and he is well capable off this mark
5 (1)	Landlordtothestars Bay J:Charles Bishop T:James Evans	J:Charles Bishop T:James Evans	129	—	80/71-	64	85	56	34d	0W/0P 1 run	0W/0P 1 run	-5	7	1.38/1	11/2 15%
Returned from a break to beat Straight A over C&D five weeks ago; respected up just 1lb
4 (6)	Al Hofzan Bay J:William Cox T:Georgina Nicholls	J:William Cox T:Georgina Nicholls	131	—	623-	66	79	49	20d	0W/1P 1 run	0W/1P 1 run	+7	11.7	5.50/1	22/1 4%
Has shown promise in three 7f AW runs; more needed to defy this mark now handicapping
7 (2)	River Wharfe Chestnut J:Matthew Lloyd Slater(7) T:Tony Carroll	J:Matthew Lloyd Slater(7) T:Tony Carroll	123	p	11586-	58	81	69	18d	—	—	+4	8.2	6.25/1	25/1 4%
C&D winner; not at best since his 8.6f win here in October; needs a strong pace to chase
6 (7)	Adelaide Bay Bay J:William Carson T:Thomas Faulkner	J:William Carson T:Thomas Faulkner	129	—	11507-	64	82	76	16d	—	—	+7	9.2	12.50/1	50/1 2%
C&D winner; not fired in two runs for new yard after a break

Horse	bet365	William Hill	Boyle Sports	Ladbrokes	Unibet
Chifa	13/8	13/8	13/8	13/8	6/4
Straight A	5/2	11/4	5/2	5/2	11/4
Arnaz	10/3	10/3	10/3	10/3	7/2
Landlordtothestars	11/2	11/2	11/2	11/2	11/2
Al Hofzan	22/1	20/1	20/1	20/1	18/1
River Wharfe	25/1	22/1	22/1	22/1	22/1
Adelaide Bay	50/1	50/1	50/1	50/1	50/1

Predictor

Scored on Official Rating (max 30), Recent Form (max 25), and Market Odds (max 20). Max score: 75.

1st

Chifa

31.4

OR: 4.8 Form: 16 Odds: 10.6

13/8

2nd

Straight A

15.2

OR: 5 Form: 3.5 Odds: 6.7

11/4

3rd

Arnaz

13.9

OR: 4.8 Form: 3.4 Odds: 5.7

7/2

Al Hofzan

11.7

OR: 4 Form: 6.5 Odds: 1.2

22/1

Adelaide Bay

9.2

OR: 3.5 Form: 5 Odds: 0.7

50/1

River Wharfe

8.2

OR: 2 Form: 5 Odds: 1.2

25/1

Landlordtothestars

OR: 3.5 Form: 0 Odds: 3.5

11/2

Ratings

Horse	OR	RPR	TS
Straight A	70	86	61
Chifa	69	81	66
Arnaz	69	83	67
Al Hofzan	66	79	49
Landlordtothestars	64	85	56
Adelaide Bay	64	82	76
River Wharfe	58	81	69

Last Run

Horse	Last Run	Status
Adelaide Bay	16d ago	Fit
River Wharfe	18d ago	Fit
Al Hofzan	20d ago	Fit
Straight A	27d ago	Fit
Arnaz	27d ago	Fit
Chifa	34d ago	Fit
Landlordtothestars	34d ago	Fit

Draw Bias

Historical win rate by draw at Wolverhampton (AW) over 7f36y. Darker = more wins.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Based on 8 draws with historical results at this course and distance.