Is the ground soft for today’s racing, and are you looking for which horses will perform well on the ground? We examine factors that can help you decide which horses are worth considering.
Indeed, some horses don’t act on certain types of ground, and if a horse prefers quick ground, it will not run to its full potential on soft ground, as it doesn’t suit its running action.
A good way to gauge whether a horse will perform well on soft or heavy ground is to observe its breeding.
If their sire or dam was a mud lover, there is a good chance that their progeny would also act on soft or heavy ground.
Our Soft Ground Horses guide features heavy-ground sires and mud lovers for you to follow.
Find out more about soft ground horses:
Contents
Soft Ground Horses Running Today
When the ground conditions are soft or heavy, shrewd gamblers are on the hunt for mud lovers.
Some racehorses thrive on soft or heavy ground.
Our top horse racing tipsters provide daily tips and, as part of their analysis, research selections that are likely to perform well in the prevailing going conditions.
Check out the free horse racing daily tips that indicate whether the horses will cope with the ground:
Horse racing tipsters prefer the conditions to be wet and softer ground because they can search for mud-loving horses running today.
If there are no races with Soft / Heavy going today, the tipsters will filter Today’s Card to exclude runners and riders who relish the mud.
Sire Stats for Soft and Heavy Ground
The following table lists the top sires by wins-to-runs strike-rate on heavy or soft ground.
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Rio | 13% | 14% | 8% |
| Intikhab | 7% | 20% | 17% |
| Hawk Wing | 9% | 10% | 9% |
| Shamardal | 22% | 16% | 20% |
| Avonbridge | 18% | 11% | 8% |
Heavy ground sires have an excellent strike rate on heavy ground.
When studying the sire statistics, the data shows that the ground conditions are a key part.
Why do some horses like soft ground?
Some horses prefer soft ground due to the running action associated with how their feet shift when they hit the surface.
A horse with a sloping shoulder will perform better on softer ground, as it is better suited to handling the surface.
The running style and frame of the racehorse determine how well the horse will run in softer conditions.
Best Soft Ground Sires
Here are the best soft-ground horses to breed from:
- Authorized
- Bahamian Bounty
- Belardo
- Camelot
- Dalahkani
- Dandy Man
- Danehill Dancer
- Dark Angel
- Excelebration
- Excellent Art
- Farhh
- Fast Company
- Galileo
- Halling
- Hellvelyn
- Jeremy – Act well on soft (Mud lovers)
- Kodiac
- Kyllachy
- Lope De Vega
- Mahler
- Mastercraftsman
- Mayson
- Monsun
- Night Of Thunder
- No Nay Never
- Notnowcato
- Passing Glance
- Pivotal
- Roderic O’Connor
- Saddler Maker
- Sea The Stars – Handles soft ground well, and also likes good ground
- Showcasing
- Sir Percy
- Zoffany
Popular Questions
What is the difference between heavy and soft ground horse racing?
The main difference between soft and heavy ground is how far the horses sink into the surface.
The soft ground on a turf racecourse has a large amount of moisture in the ground.
The heavy ground on a turf racecourse sinks very deeply into it and the turf starts to cut up.
How do you know if a horse likes soft ground?
The best way to know if a horse likes soft ground is to inspect its recent form in similar going conditions.
The previous form on soft going is a great indicator of whether the horse will handle the ground conditions.
If a horse has won or been placed on soft or heavy going, it is probably safe to assume that similar underfoot conditions will pose it no problem.
For punters trying to find out if an unraced horse will handle the softer underfoot conditions you need to research the Progeny Horse Racing Statistics and whether the sire handled the soft or not.
Summary of Soft Ground Loving Horses
Soft ground is common for UK and Irish horse racing due to the amount of rain forecasted throughout the year.
As the jumps season is in winter, the weather tends to be much wetter, and the temperature is much lower, so most National Hunt horses encounter soft or heavy conditions regularly.
The soft surface can be more rigid for horses to run on as the ground is deeper, and the moisture in the ground causes the racehorses to run much slower.
Savvy sports bettors always hunt for horses that like soft ground when it rains.
Mud lovers perform very well in soft and even better in heavy ground conditions.
