Cartmel, Friday 26 June 2026: Tips and Selections

Cartmel, Friday 26 June 2026: Tips and Selections

Cartmel is the kind of track that rewards course knowledge, and Friday’s card reflects that. Six races across hurdles and fences, with good ground and light rain making conditions honest rather than testing. The key angles here are trainer strike rates at this tight, undulating track and jockeys who know every bend. Gordon Elliott and Sam England both have strong course records, and their runners carry significant weight in the market. Three races are worth getting stuck into.

2:18 RF Miller & Co Novices’ Hurdle (2m6f)

Selection: Loch Cuan (8/13, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Short odds, yes, but this is as straightforward a case as you will find on a Friday afternoon card. Gordon Elliott saddles Loch Cuan with Sean Bowen in the saddle, and that combination at Cartmel is as good as it gets. Elliott runs at 27% at this course, easily the best of any trainer in the field, and Bowen sits at 22% here with an A/E of 0.98, showing he converts rather than just landing the odds-on odds shots. The form reads 02-21, which means the horse has won over hurdles and ran second before that. On a six-runner field with 28/1 shots padding out the market and Tribal Moon (4/1) showing a flat 0-7 form line, this looks a procession. Loch Cuan is not an each-way play at these odds in this field size, just back it to win.

3:18 Molson Coors Novices’ Handicap Chase (2m5f)

Selection: Passengerontheship (11/10, Betfred / LiveScore Bet)

The form line of -P1111 tells the story here. Four wins on the bounce, a pulled-up run before the sequence that is easy to forgive, and a horse clearly in the form of its life. Sam England is running at 19% at Cartmel with an A/E of 1.12, meaning the yard genuinely over-performs here relative to expectations. Jonathan England at 20% with an A/E of 1.21 is one of the best jockeys on the track and he rides the selection. The combination of yard form, jockey knowledge and a red-hot recent record makes this look solid at just over evens. Settle Down Jill (5/1) is interesting as Tristan Davidson is firing at 2/8 in the last 14 days, but taking on a horse on a four-timer with this jockey-trainer booking is a risk not worth taking here.

3:50 Lakes Luxury Loo’s Handicap Chase (3m1½f)

Selection: Stratagem Each-Way (11/4, Betfred)

A proper handicap with seven runners and a field where the market is genuinely compressed between several credible contenders. Mickey Bowen has been in brilliant form lately, running at 5/30 in the last 14 days, and Stratagem’s form of 314-31 shows a horse that competes consistently. A win and a third from the last two starts is the kind of profile that lands in handicap chases like this. The 11/4 is available at Betfred and represents solid each-way value in a race this competitive. James Murray is a 7lb claimer, which takes weight off, and at three miles-plus this is the kind of trip where that weight advantage starts to matter.

Caughtinyourtrance is the market leader and hard to ignore with Brian Hughes up, but the form of 23P-22 shows a horse that keeps getting beaten at the business end. Fairlawn Flyer is the stablemate running for the same yard with Sean Bowen, the stronger jockey booking. Bowen’s course record speaks for itself. If the yard is splitting its focus between two runners in the same race, that can cut both ways, but Stratagem’s recent form edge and the weight advantage through the claimer give it a clear angle at a better price.

• Stratagem at 11/4 (Betfred) each-way, 2 places at 1/4 odds
• Caughtinyourtrance (9/4, LiveScore Bet) is the danger, compact form but keeps finishing second

Today’s NAP

Passengerontheship — Molson Coors Novices’ Handicap Chase (3:18, Cartmel)
Odds: 11/10 — Betfred (others: 11/10 LiveScore Bet)

Four wins on the spin, the course’s most reliable trainer-jockey combination in Sam and Jonathan England, and a going description that suits this type of progressive novice chaser. The form line demands respect and the market price, while not generous, reflects a horse that should win this comfortably. On a day where finding genuine confidence is the challenge, this is the race where everything points the same direction.