By Ben Aitken

NOTE: You can click on any image to view in a new window, and you can download a PDF copy of this article on this link

 

Introduction

Time for the next of my ‘Horses to Follow’ posts, uncovered during my weekly mine into the Proform Speed Figures...

If you missed the previous ‘To Follow’ articles you can get them HERE>>>

And if you are yet to read my main article on Proform Speed Figures you can get that HERE>>>

Today I’m heading back to last week’s Cheltenham Festival action and the Class 2 Kim Muir Chase that was run on Thursday 14^th of March (5:30 race)...

Horse to follow: GIT MAKER (J Snowden)

As always let’s start with looking at how the race panned out on the Proform Speed Figure front...

The Speed Class Par for this contest was 74 and as you can see from the above, the first 2 home – INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN & GIT MAKER... posted a Proform Speed Figure above par for the level.

INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN went up to OR 156 for this win and that’s possibly still below his ceiling, as his third at Limerick behind Gaelic Warrior & Il Etait Temps in December saw him post and even better Proform Speed Figure than his Kim Muir effort (he posted a figure of 84 that day) and he looks like one that should be able to bridge the gap between handicaps and open graded company next season. He won’t have been missed by many, however, so no need for me to put him up as ‘one to follow’...

GIT MAKER posted an effort that was a career best on the Proform Speed Figures, despite being 8-lengths back at the line, and he almost certainly just ‘bumped into one’ in the shape of the winner. He was only shunted up 1lb for this second-placed finish, and that’s probably a lenient rise. He was comfortably beaten by the winner... but he was a whopping 18-lengths+ ahead of the remainder of the field, and if you take the winner out of this he’s absolutely trounced the rest of them, posting a career best effort in the process, both of which (the margin back to the third and a Proform Speed Figure best) heighten my belief that the 1lb rise for the run is very lenient...

If we look at GIT MAKER’S previous form, there are some interesting pointers to highlight...

His previous best Proform Speed Figure was achieved on his Chase debut back in November 2022, which also came on the most testing ground he had previous faced... the GA that day was -12.88 whilst the GA for the Kim Muir was -6.5, which was the third most testing ground he had faced (2^nd came on his career debut at Chepstow), so a case to be made there that the deeper the ground, the better he runs... although worth pointing out that his overall profile suggests he doesn’t need testing ground, but that it is perhaps a positive for him...

Also worth noting that he’s possibly at his best on a Left-Handed track as his LH/RH splits read...

LH = 2111211 (5/7, 1p)

RH = 1426 (1/4, 1p)

...with the RH win coming in a low-class Novice Hurdle at Carlisle...

Admittedly, the fact his second best Proform Speed Figure was achieved at Right-Handed Sandown maybe doesn’t quite back up that LH/RH theory, but again, it’s maybe a case that he doesn’t need to go Left-Handed but it is perhaps a positive for him...

Most of the talk off the back of the Kim Muir has revolved around INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN, and I get that, he does look like one who should be up to making an impact in Graded company next season... but plenty notice should also be taken of the performance of GIT MAKER in second... the fact he posted a career best in second AND the fact the figure was above par for the level is a strong indicator that this was a big effort from the 8yo, and a horse that...

a) was unlucky to bump into a probable Graded horse in the shape of INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN

and

b) has been very leniently treated by the handicapper, given the distance he beat the rest of the field and with what the Proform Speed Figures are telling us about his performance

There are no current entries on the horizon for GIT MAKER, but Jamie Snowdon has developed into a trainer that places his horses extremely well, and it’s well worth looking out for where he heads with this 8yo on his coming starts...

 

By Ben Aitken

Horse Racing analyst and website owner at www.narrowingthefield.co.uk

Race Trends analysis and horse profiling alongside personally researched systems and angles are my preferred analysis and betting methods

Proform user for over 10-years