Kempton
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Merv Cox Memorial Handicap (London Mile Series Qualifier)
Starts in
9h 57min
Polytrack surface
All Runners — sorted by TrackLab Score
Good Value
TrackLab Insight
The standout form horse in this field, winning at Goodwood just five days ago and now returning to Kempton where he has won three times from nine visits — more course wins than anyone else here. He is drawn high in stall 13, which is a real concern on this track where horses in the bottom four stalls win nearly twice as often as those drawn 10 and above. A worthy favourite on ability, but that draw makes life harder than it needs to be.
Course specialist (3 wins from 9 here)
Best record on this ground (3 from 9)
Best record at this trip (1 from 3)
Runs again after just 5 days
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TrackLab Insight
Joint second-highest rated in the field alongside Freddie's Star, but her recent form is a string of four consecutive fourth-place finishes — always thereabouts, never quite getting over the line. She handles this type of surface well with two wins on it, but the suspicion is she may end up fourth again.
2nd highest rated (OR 74)
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TrackLab Insight
The most experienced horse in the field by a distance — 58 races compared to a field average of 22 — and he has been placed in more than half of them over a long career. Three consecutive second or third-place finishes at Kempton show he is running well right now, but he has won only three times at this course from 26 attempts, and that nagging inability to convert placed efforts into wins is the story of his recent life.
Most experienced (58 runs, field avg 22)
3 straight top-3 finishes
Trainer Quotes
May 2026
"He's been a really good horse and won us a lot of money over the years. We bought him as a backend three-year-old. He won first time out this year at Kempton in January but then ran a couple of flat races for some reason now. However, he seems to be back in form again. I thought he ran well when he was second last week behind Sea Founder at Kempton and he's handicapped to win again as he's on a nice mark. 14-05-26"
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Good Value
TrackLab Insight
Twelve races into his career and still looking for that first win — but he was beaten less than half a length into second place at Lingfield last month, so the talent is clearly there. William Buick, one of the best jockeys in the country, takes the ride and has won 12 races from 71 outings with this trainer, which is an encouraging combination for a horse that is knocking hard on the door.
Winless from 12 career races
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TrackLab Insight
Has raced three times on this type of surface and won none of them, and the most recent run — the result of which is listed as unknown — came 105 days ago, so there is some uncertainty around where this horse is right now. Three consecutive top-three finishes in its recorded recent form is a positive sign, but the record on slow or standard ground is a genuine concern given today's conditions.
3 straight top-3 finishes
Trainer Quotes
Jul 2025
"He came from Donnacha O'Brien and won nicely first time out at Musselburgh. He then ran pretty respectably at Ascot and the horse who finished second just got chinned in the Britannia. Things didn't work out quite as I wanted them to back at Musselburgh next time, although he still ran well enough. He was too free in first-time blinkers on Monday at Pontefract. 02-07-25"
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TrackLab Insight
The editorial picks this nine-year-old out as the main danger to the favourite, and it is easy to see why — he won at Lingfield 41 days ago and was second there the time before, suggesting he is in the form of his life. Crucially, he draws stall 4, right in the low-draw sweet spot where horses win most often at this course and distance, giving him a significant positional advantage over several rivals.
One of the more successful in the field (5 career wins)
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TrackLab Insight
Two of his three career wins have come on this type of slow surface, making today's conditions a genuine plus, and he won at this very course 70 days ago before running second at Lingfield last month. He is rated 3lbs below the field average so has a bit to find on official ratings, but he handles these conditions well and arrives in reasonable form after a run just seven days ago.
Runs again after just 7 days
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TrackLab Insight
Raced just yesterday at Brighton and finished fifth, which makes this an extremely quick turnaround — no other horse in the field is returning after just one day. Three consecutive fifth or sixth-place finishes suggest a horse that is struggling to threaten the leaders, and the rapid reappearance makes it hard to be enthusiastic here.
Runs again after just 1 days
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TrackLab Insight
The form figures look contradictory — a win at Southwell two months ago followed by back-to-back tenth-place finishes, including one just eight days ago at Newcastle. The trainer has been in excellent form recently with three wins from 12 runners in the past fortnight, but the horse itself arrives here in poor form and from a high draw where winners are rare at this course.
3 straight top-3 finishes
Trainer in best form (3 from 12 last 2wk)
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TrackLab Insight
The lowest-rated horse in the field, carrying the lightest weight, and yet he arrives here in reasonable form with a win at Lingfield 22 days ago and a third place at Brighton just 12 days ago. The weight advantage helps level the playing field, and his record over this distance is among the better ones in the field, but he will need to outrun his official rating by some margin to trouble the principals.
Lowest rated, 6lbs below average
Carries lowest weight in field
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TrackLab Insight
Has not raced for 285 days — the longest absence of any horse in this field — and has yet to win from four career races, so there is a lot being asked here. The jockey is in decent form with three wins from 13 rides in the past two weeks, but a horse returning from nearly ten months off with no wins to its name faces a steep task in a competitive 14-runner field.
Never raced on slow ground
Absent 285 days (longest in field)
Jockey in best form (3 from 13 last 2wk)
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TrackLab Insight
All four of this horse's career wins have come on wet or soft ground, and the data shows zero wins from four races on the type of surface we have today — so the conditions here are not what he wants despite the race being run on a slow surface. He was beaten more than 22 lengths at this course just three weeks ago, and the overall picture is of a horse running well below his best form.
Among the more experienced (30 career races)
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TrackLab Insight
Six career wins is a solid record, but four of them have come at Newcastle — a course that clearly suits him — and he has never won at Wolverhampton in six attempts, with Kempton presenting a fresh challenge. He has not raced for 151 days, the second-longest absence in the field, and returns rated 4lbs below the field average, making this a tough spot to bounce back in.
One of the more successful in the field (6 career wins)
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