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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
Five losing days and we were staring down the barrel of a losing week (-£8.50 up to Sunday) despite 7/2, 5/2, and two 7/4 winners on the week.
The week was turned around on Sunday, however, when both suggestions Staffordshire (14/1) and Twentydontgo (15/8) scored (over 42/1 double), producing a profit of £15.87 on the day, and the week ended on Sunday, 15 February, with a profit of +£7.37.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 15 February 2026
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1,476.34
- Week ending Sunday, 15 February: +£7.37
- February 2026 to date: +£28.37
- Year 2026 to date: +£86.13
- Year 2025 ended: +£312.73
- Year 2024 ended: +£364.90
- Year 2023 ended: +£469.27
- Period 1/8/22-31/12/22 ended: +£243.31
(All figures to a £1 level stake)
Charlie McCann’s Tips - Friday, 20 February
Constitution Hill's flat debut at Southwell tonight will be the highlight for many.
With the Champion Hurdle just over three weeks away, I do think it would have been a more useful exercise if the horse schooled privately or publicly over four or five flights of hurdles rather than run in a valuable flat race for the benefit of one horse. If the schooling is unsatisfactory, draw a line under his jumps career and concentrate on the flat or retirement.
If he runs well, wins or finishes in the frame, and then goes on to the Champion Hurdle, then just what was this exercise for? Connections are seriously considering Cheltenham. Yet his prep race for the Champion Hurdle, for a horse who has fallen in three of his last four jumps races, is a 12f flat race which has been shoehorned into the racing schedule as the trainer complained there were no suitable races for him on the flat.
Since his Newcastle fall at the end of November, The Champion Hurdle has fallen apart – no State Man, Lossiemouth underperforming, The New Lion underwhelming – and connections want to go to Cheltenham, but they bleated post-Fighting Fifth about the lack of flat options.
ARC have put up a big pot, and it has attracted a competitive field, as it should do, although you get the impression connections would have preferred to be paid for a City Of Troy-type exercise with the Festival just over three weeks away.
They are now in this difficult PR position. If they go to Cheltenham without a run over hurdles since the Fighting Fifth, and heaven forbid, something happens to him?
For what it is worth, I think he will/would win the Champion Hurdle, but I do not know how he must run tonight for connections and the racing media to conclude that his next start should come in the Champion Hurdle.
The trainer who cried wolf!
3:05pm Warwick - Alcedo
Joker De Mai and Cabhfuilfunghi are in-form, but they are not strong stayers at this two-and-a-half mile trip, and the ground – a mix of soft and heavy on Thursday morning – is a worry for The Good Doctor, who has been returned 5/1, 5/2, 13/8, 11/4, 7/4, and 7/2 in his six starts over fences for Ben Pauling.
He was fitted with a visor for the first time last time, but that failed to work the oracle, and he must show an awful lot more at home than he has on the track over fences to date. The visor – beaten 44l last time – is left off today.
That leaves Palamon and ALCEDO, and it should be worth noting that Harry Skelton rides the former for the first time since he moved across the Irish Sea. He has been dropped 8lbs by the handicapper for his two modest runs, but if there is an application of cash by his shrewd connections, I will save on the six-year-old, who is the youngest in the field.
You jump seventeen fences at Warwick over their 2m4f chase trip, and Palamon has jumped well out the back in his two British starts to date. He has form on all ground in his native Ireland, but his best runs over jumps have been with some headgear – tongue-tie and blinkers or cheekpieces –, and connections have not yet called for any headgear.
Alcedo represents Venetia Williams, who has had five winners from her last eight runners, having come out of a barren spell at the weekend. Her Falco Des Pins won by just a neck at Ludlow on Wednesday, but he was value for six or seven lengths, and the runner-up - Count Adhemar – is another to keep onside going forward.
Alcedo is only 1lb higher than when second to Docpickedme over 3m at Doncaster – under today's jockey, Ned Fox - when last seen in December, and his nose defeat of Beau Geste at Newcastle the previous month, reads well given the runner-up is now rated 23lbs higher in the weights, although that improvement has coincided with stepping up in distance.
Recommendation: Alcedo - 11/8 with bet365
4:35pm Warwick - Voleur De Terres
VOLEUR DE TERRES was out of the handicap when causing a 40/1 shock at Leicester over two-and-a-half miles last week, and she will only be racing from a 2lbs higher mark stepped up to 3m this afternoon, despite carrying a 7lbs penalty for that eased down two-and-a-half-length success.
That victory was just trainer Claire Dyson's second winner in the last five seasons, and the hope is that this dual heavy ground winner between the flags will again be underestimated. If she jumps and travels as well as she did at Oadby eight days ago, then she will be extremely hard to beat, given this does not look as good a field as at Leicester.
Yes, that was only eight days ago and over a shorter trip, but she looked to be always going best, and jockey Lee Edwards, who keeps the ride today, maintained post-race this was no fluke. Note the mare was supported (66s into 14s) overnight before she drifted on the show from 25s to 40/1.
Lynsey Larue is a winner between the flags, and Evan Williams has booked Ben Jones for his seven-year-old, although both her point successes were gained on better ground.
Recommendation: Voleur De Terres - 11/10 with bet365
1:52pm Ffos Las - Haut Folin (Each-Way) (Nap)
The hope is that this is another good day for Venetia Williams, as her HAUT FOLIN (Each-Way) (Nap) returns to winning ways from a rating 11lbs lower than that of his sole British victory, which came over course and distance back in December 2023.
The selection has been dropped 6lbs for his two runs so far this term, but he didn't run badly when third at Ludlow last time, when ridden by an inexperienced claimer. Williams will have any number of potentially well handicapped horses in her string, and I well remember Haut Folin finishing runner-up over today's course and distance to The Scorpion King from a 7lbs higher mark. The inner was in the form of his life at the time, and he will be unfortunate to bump into anything in such form this evening.
I was a fan of River Run Free but had given up on the seven-year-old, having been beaten at 2/5, 11/4, and 9/2, before bouncing back to score at Leicester last month from a 5lbs lower mark. He has never won beyond 2m6+, but he should stay – was beaten 6l by Final Demand in a 3m Irish point-to-point – and he is considered the chief threat.
Recommendation: Haut Folin (Each-Way) (Nap) - 11/2 with bet365 (3 places)
Cheltenham Festival Antepost Selections
Martin Pipe Handicap - Sonigino (Each-Way)
Sonigino has not been entered for the Coral Cup, so anyone who backed the antepost selection will already have had their money refunded, given it was NRNB. He has been entered for the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, and my thoughts below can be transferred to the Festival finale on the Friday, with Freddie Keighley or Freddie Gingell likely to ride.
Note the nine-year-old has been entered to run at Kempton (2m5f) on Saturday, 21 February, with the weights for the Festival handicaps published next week. He may need to win to be guaranteed a run in the race.
I have been inundated – well, two – with requests for an antepost selection for the forthcoming Cheltenham Festival and, with the meeting now just four weeks away and many of the major bookmakers going NRNB, I have decided to dip my toe in the water.
A rating of 131 was needed to get into the Coral Cup in 2025, and SONIGINO (Each-Way) is rated 132 and is 11lbs lower in the weights than when sent off 16/1 for the Martin Pipe of 2025, when he carried 11st 10lbs but disappointed on heavy ground. Granted, on better ground, I expect him to be a different proposition next month.
His Cheltenham record isn't great, 8-4-PU, but his fourth in the Greatwood Hurdle of 2023 from a 5lbs higher mark is very good form, and I thought he ran a terrific race at Musselburgh last time when he jumped and travelled like a very well-handicapped horse under Freddie Gingell, but failed to stay three miles. His penultimate run at Sandown has been given a boost by the subsequent win of runner-up and stablemate Henri The Second, who is now rated 11lbs higher in the weights.
He is guaranteed a better pace to chase at Cheltenham in the Martin Pipe – the Festival finale - and do remember Paul Nicholls napped him as his best chance of a winner at the two-day meeting at Musselburgh, and the Ditcheat trainer had three winners over the two days.
Antepost Recommendation: Sonigino (Each-Way) - 66/1 with Coral (NRNB)
Brown Advisory Novices' Chase - Wendigo (Each-Way)
My second Cheltenham Festival antepost selection is WENDIGO (Each-Way) at 7/1 (non-runner no bet) for the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at 2:00pm on Wednesday 11th March.
The selection finished fifth, beaten 8l in last year's Grade 1 3m Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle and is held by the mare The Big Westerner, who finished a two-and-a-half length second to the Willie Mullins-trained winner Jasmin De Vaux. The mare is considered the chief threat to Wendigo, but at the time of writing, the Henry De Bromhead yard remains quiet by their own lofty standards, although they do have a knack of getting them right for the big day.
I do not think The Big Westerner will shorten from her current odds of 5/1, and she has the alternative of the Mares' Chase, although connections have nominated the 3m trip of the Brown Advisory as her Festival target.
Wendigo has only won two of his four chase starts, but he has only had his optimum conditions – 3m on a left-hand track - once previously, and that resulted in a facile 22l Kelso success last time, although that was an uncompetitive heat that saw him returned at 1/5.
I came away from the Grade 1 Kauto Star Novice Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day thinking the first two, Kitzbuhel and Thomas Mor, would never beat Wendigo again, as the latter was ill at ease on the fast ground and right-hand track. The winner blotted his copybook at Sandown when coming down at the open ditch in the home straight, while the second must go right-handed, and he is due to run in the Reynoldstown at Ascot this weekend.
Wendigo would have finished a couple of lengths closer to The Big Westerner at Cheltenham last year had he not got involved in scrimmaging – great word, I should use it more often – after two out in the Albert Bartlett, and this sound jumper goes on all ground, although soft or good to soft would be ideal.
Final Demand heads the market at 7/2 and is one of the reasons I am keen to have a bet in the race, as I was unimpressed with his Limerick Grade 1 success at Christmas, and he again looked laboured when third at Leopardstown to stablemate Kaid d'Authie at the Dublin Racing Festival over 2m5f+. He did win his sole point over 3m and a 2m6f Grade 1 Novice Hurdle, but he has never run over three miles under rules.
I appreciate Willie Mullins – who has saddled the winner three times in the last five years - should know where he stands with Wendigo through Kitzbuhel, but I am putting a line through the selection's Kempton run. I would take Wendigo and The Big Westerner over Final Demand and Kaid D'Authie, that is for sure.
In the last decade, only one horse (Lecky Watson 20/1 in 2025) has been returned a double-figure price for this Grade 1 Novice Chase, and there have been five winning favourites.
Recommendation: Wendigo (Each-Way) - 7/1 with bet365 (NRNB)
*Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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Charlie McCann’s Horses to Follow
Last updated, Monday 30 June
Blue Bolt (Three-year-old filly trained by Andrew Balding)
Blue Bolt was beaten more than 5L on her racecourse debut over 7f at Southwell on debut but she has looked a different proposition on turf, with that experience under her belt, winning both starts over a mile at Windsor and Newbury.
Her latest success in a valuable Novice under Colin Keane suggested she was ready for a step up in grade and she holds an entry in the listed Coral Distaff on Eclipse Day at Sandown.
Her Group 1 entry Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September suggests connections are taking it slowly slowly with this daughter of Blue Point - no entry in next week’s Falmouth Stakes - but I am convinced she is at least up to listed level.
Keane was jockey up on the filly as soon as the entries were announced and both turf wins have been gained on good or faster ground. There is a possibility of a shower on Wednesday morning, but the forecast is set fair for the rest of the week.
Gunship (Three-year-old trained by James Ferguson)
Gunship was not guaranteed on breeding to appreciate the step up to a mile-and-a-half at Royal Ascot and so it proved with the dual tapeta winner fading from two out in the King George V Stakes.
It is possible that the Sea The Stars colt will always be a better horse on the all-weather, but he travelled as well as anything save winner Merchant at the Royal meeting. We will know more about his long-term prospects after his next start which is likely to be at Newmarket on the Friday of their July Cup meeting.
That bet365 sponsored contest is one of the hottest three-year-old 10f handicaps of the season and he needs ten to come out to be guaranteed a run, but he remains a colt with plenty more to come, and his next start should tell us whether his best days lie solely on an artificial surface.
The form of his previous three quarters of a length defeat of War Hawk at Newmarket has been franked by the runner up who has since won at Chester and Epsom. He would meet Gunship on 6lbs worse terms if they both faced the starter on the July course.
Midnight Tango (Two-year-old trained by Ed Walker)
Midnight Tango really ought to have won the listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket (July) at the end of June when Kieran Shoemark tried to come from last to first on the wrong side of the track. She passed six of her seven rivals in the last couple of furlongs, and I wonder if the jockey will consider it one that got away.
She has only got a modest Hamilton success to her name, but she is held in some regard by Ed Walker, and she is up to at least listed class. It would be no surprise if she landed a Group race between now and the end of the season with something like the Lowther at York’s Ebor meeting under consideration.
Charles Darwin (Two-year-old trained by Aidan O’Brien)
The “lads” at Ballydoyle nominated Albert Einstein as their Coventry horse over 6f at Royal Ascot after making it two out of two in the Marble Stakes at the Curragh. That left Charles Darwin as their Norfolk representative after his fluent Naas win at the minimum trip.
When Albert Einstein was a late defector ahead of the Coventry, connections gave Gstaad the green light to run on the opening day and left Charles Darwin in the Norfolk rather than “upgrade” him to the Coventry which is widely considered the premier juvenile race of the meeting.
Gstaad duly bolted up by 3l in the Coventry while Charles Darwin landed Thursday’s Norfolk by more than 2l hitting the line hard and giving every impression he would relish another furlong. Aidan O’Brien, it would appear, already has the three best juvenile colts in Europe and it will be fascinating to see how connections keep them apart.
If there is a batting order at present, you feel the yard consider 1) Albert Einstein 2) Charles Darwin and 3) Gstaad. Charles Darwin has the physique of a four-year-old let alone a two-year-old and a crack at the Group 1 Nunthorpe over 5f at York in August was muted given the weight-for-age allowance juveniles receive against their elders.
I would prefer the son of No Nay Never to step back up to six furlongs next time, but you get the impression that Albert Einstein will dictate and be campaigned as the yard’s number one until results say otherwise.
As a half-brother to the yard’s dual Group1 winning juvenile Blackbeard, Charles Darwin is not guaranteed to train on next term, but I am convinced he will win at the top table between now and the end of the season.
Aeronautic (Four-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien)
The lightly- raced Aeronautic finished fifth in the 1m6f Copper Horse Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot for Joseph O’Brien who endured such a frustrating week.
The stable had four winners in Ireland on Saturday, and most of their Ascot team ran terrific races in defeat with six finishing in the first four of their respective races.
Aeronautic was no match for French Master at Ascot but ran a cracking race on the quickest ground he has encountered to date. He was beaten less than 4l in the Copper Horse over that mile-and-three-quarter trip and I wonder if connections will consider dropping him back in distance at some time given how well he travelled on that occasion.
After just six career starts the son of Gleneagles has a big race in him between now and the end of the season. The Ebor and Melbourne Cup were races connections may have had in mind for the gelding had he won at Ascot, but I am still convinced there is a big pot to be had with the gelding this term and he won’t go up the weights for finishing fifth.
Classic Encounter (Three-year-old trained by George Boughey)
Classic Encounter was weak in the market, then backed near the off at Newcastle on his first start for George Boughey and belated seasonal reappearance.
He was squeezed out at the start of that hot Novice contest before making good late headway into a never nearer fifth over a mile.
That should have blown the cobwebs away, and I expect him to be more forcefully ridden next time. He will get further than a mile and looks the type to win a maiden/novice on turf in the short turn while he may be eased a couple of pounds from his mark of 82.
He is very much one to keep onside in the months ahead.
Charming Whisper (Three-year-old trained by Charlie McBride)
I appreciate you can go skint backing horses who have been unlucky, but I feel Charming Whisper should have won his last four races for Newmarket handler Charlie McBride.
A winner of two-mile handicaps from marks of 72 and 74 in June, the gelding has met trouble in-running from his last couple of starts over the Bunbury Mile and at Brighton - not convinced he was in love with the track - and I feel he is more than capable of defying his current rating of 80.
A stiff mile on good or faster ground are his optimum conditions, and he is one to keep on the right side of in the short term.
Ride The Thunder (Two-year-old trained by Roger Varian)
He cost 400,000 gns as a yearling and went into my tracker when recovering £1700 of his purchase price when finishing second in a Doncaster Novice to God Of War - had previous experience - on debut over seven furlongs.
I appreciate that the Varian yard lacks consistency, but I will be disappointed if this inmate does not go one better next time. The step up to a mile is likely to suit going forward, although 7f looks his trip in the short term.
Jagwar (Five-year-old trained by Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero)
Jagwar ran with the choke out at Uttoxeter in their competitive 2m 4f handicap hurdle last weekend and a blunder two out put paid to his chance. He was beaten 10L at the line, but he travelled like a well-handicapped horse for much of the race and the hope is that he will eventually cut out the jumping issues that have blunted his progression to this point. He was dropped 1lb to a mark of 118 by the handicapper after Uttoxeter.
Better ground should suit this spring and I wonder if he might be worth a try back at the minimum trip. The conditional jockeys’ event at Aintree might enter calculations at next month’s National meeting.
Merry Monty (Seven-year-old trained by Chris Down)
Merry Monty looked the type to improve for the switch to fences, and he shaped with considerable promise on his chase debut at Exeter over 2m 3f on New Year’s Day, giving every indication that he would improve again when stepped up in trip.
The gelding showed his first form when runner up - also at Exeter - on his penultimate start over timber when he jumped his hurdles as if he had been previously schooled over fences. He is likely to be nudged up the weights from his mark of eighty, but he would have won at Exeter granted another twenty yards, and I will be disappointed if he isn’t bordering on three figures by the end of the season.
Frederick Daly (7lb Claimer)
It is rare to be as impressed with a jockey, especially one who arguably won by too far, having his first ride under rules. Still, I was blown away by the quiet style of amateur Daly, who rode Golden Shot to win the amateur riders’ event at Ffos Las on Monday for Sir Mark Prescott. As Ian Bishop might have said: “Frederick Daly - remember the name”.
The 16-year-old was as polished in his postrace interview with Sky Sports Racing as he was in the saddle, and he suggested that he would spend little time as an amateur and would soon be turning professional.
His 7lb claim is likely to prove very popular when that happens. However, you get the impression that his father, who I remember as a former assistant trainer in Newmarket, and Sir Mark Prescott will manage his progression diligently as he works through his claim.
It might be daft to draw such conclusions after just the one ride, and he never had to get serious on the 29L winner, but there was just something about his style that suggested he was no ordinary amateur jockey. I, for one, will be monitoring his progress and will take note to see if other trainers book the jockey for similar contests in the short term.
Royal Rhyme (Three-year-old trained by Karl Burke)
Goodwood was largely a disappointment, with the rain putting a dampener on proceedings on and off the track. The week was summed up when the last three races were abandoned on the Saturday as the rain returned in spades.
On the track, the highlights were the continued brilliance of Paddington in the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, but he must play second fiddle to Royal Rhyme, who showed himself to be a Group horse when running away with what is invariably a competitive three-year-old handicap.
The handicapper has seen fit to raise him 13lbs to a mark of 108 for his six-and-a-half length romp, while his winning time was three seconds quicker than that clocked by Al Husn in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes later in the card. His record on soft ground reads played three won three, with those successes coming by an aggregate of 12 lengths.
He remains one to keep on side granted soft ground this autumn. His stablemate Triple Time, likely to reappear at Deauville on Sunday, did us a huge favour when landing the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot at 33/1. Royal Rhyme is currently the same price for the Champion Stakes with Ladbrokes and Coral at Newmarket in October. Granted soft ground, he certainly won’t be that price if he faces the starter.
Diamond Ri (Four-year-old trained by Joe Tizzard)
Diamond Ri tanked through a Warwick Bumper on his racecourse debut to score by a long-looking thirteen lengths. The winning time was five-and-a-half seconds than the first division half an hour later.
The Tizzard yard does not have too many Bumper winners, but the yard can dare to dream over the summer that they have something to go to war with as a novice hurdler next term. His win came on soft ground, and his action and breeding suggest plenty of cut will suit going forward. Not one for the short term, but one for next season.
About Charlie McCann
Seven years as talkSPORT racing correspondent/tipster who recently spent over a decade as Director Of PR/Communications for a couple of leading igaming operators.
Failed cricketer - I regularly bore people, myself included, with the story about how I caught Imran Khan when 12th Man for Lancashire v Sussex as a youth - former National League Basketball player - once scored 72 points in a game - and lifelong and long-suffering Everton supporter.
Many of my old friends - and I mean old - would tell you I was a better footballer than a cricketer - but cricket was my first love. Horse racing has long been my passion - ironic as I’ll never pass the vet again as my sports injuries have come back to bite - with my specialism handicap chases over jumps and 1m+ handicaps on the level.
I have met many of the great and good in the game and consider myself to have been very fortunate. Please always bet within your means and never chase your losses.
Be Lucky.
You can follow Charlie McCann on Twitter for more racing insight.
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