The Notebook - 26.02.2025

Not every big performance results in a headline victory. Sometimes it is the subtle runs, the late headway, the eye-catching move through the field, or the effort against unfavourable conditions, that signal a horse ready to strike next time. Here are four runners who caught the eye this week and may be worth adding to your notebook for future races...

Forcetoreckonwith

At a very moderate level, there should be races to be won with Forcetoreckonwith, who finished second at Catterick on Tuesday. After getting an initial handicap mark of 95, he had dropped 10 lbs after a string of disappointing performances, but in recent outings, he was beginning to indicate he could be coming into form. He pressed the leader throughout, racing on the pace which appeared generous, so it is a testament that he was still able to finish his race strongly.

The winner, Shadowfax of Rohan, looks particularly well handicapped now with new trainer Patrick Neville, so in time, this race could read well. Whilst he won’t be a world beater, I saw plenty to suggest he’s capable of picking up races at the lower end of the handicap.

Ronnie’s Reflection

Similarly, Ronnie’s Reflection bumped into another improving type when finishing second at Leicester this week. He was bidding to win this Class 5 contest for successive years and performed with real credit when finishing second. He looked straightforward compared to most, jumping well and travelling nicely, as opposed to some of his rivals, who ran in snatches, hit fences or hung badly in the wrong direction.

It is unclear how much room there is in his mark of 84, but he won off that mark in 2025, so with a clever bit of placing, he could be able to pick up another low-grade race. Both of his wins came at Leicester, so he would be of interest back there.

Ahanaglogh

30 minutes later, I think we saw another future winner in Ahanaglogh, who narrowly came out on the wrong end of a good battle with an improving horse from Alan Jones' yard. There were few excuses for Fergal O’Brien’s runner-up, other than just bumping into a horse at the right end of the handicap.

On another day, he would have run out a ready winner, and now that he’s confirmed the promise of his penultimate second place at Hereford, he looks set to be in the winners' enclosure in due course. In a similar vein to the rest of the column, he isn’t going to become a horse who improves 30 lbs, but at Class 5 level, he is of big interest.

Alcedo

Now Venetia Williams’ horses are running better, Alcedo is more than capable of winning races off 126 and again ran with credit at Warwick on Friday. He bumped into an unexposed horse at the trip in Cabhfuilfungi who appeared to improve dramatically for the extra half mile. A return to three miles may help unlock more potential in Alcedo, who produced an excellent effort over that trip at Doncaster in December.

As with most of Venetia’s, the slower the ground, the better, with his wins coming on Soft at Exeter and Heavy at Ffos Las. He is likeable and consistent, and when things fall right, he will win plenty of races.