Catterick, Tuesday 4 August 2026: Tips & Selections

Catterick, Tuesday 4 August 2026: Tips & Selections

Six races on the card at Catterick today on good ground, and there is enough to work with across three featured races. The track suits trainers who know it well, and William Haggas (34% here) and Cieren Fallon (32%) are the names to follow closely. Haggas is also firing in his recent 14-day spell at 9/48, which is strong output for a flat yard in August. With the York Ebor Festival a fortnight away, the northern trainers are beginning to sharpen up their strings, and that matters at a track like Catterick where local knowledge counts.

2:15 Army Benevolent Fund/EBF Novice Stakes (7f, Good)

Seven two-year-olds over seven furlongs, and the form guide is thin as you would expect at this stage of the season. The market leaders here carry the most compelling angles.

National Pride (11/4, Boyle Sports) is trained by William Haggas, who wins 34% of his Catterick runners. The yard is running hot over the past 14 days at 9/48, and Cieren Fallon, who pilots this colt, is a 32% course winner here with an A/E of 1.60. That is a seriously profitable combination at this track. A sixth on debut is a workmanlike start, and seven furlongs on good ground suits a Haggas two-year-old bred to stay. The Fallon/Haggas combination at Catterick alone is enough to take the price.

Waakabb (11/8, Boyle Sports) is the market leader for the Crisfords and shaped with promise when third on debut. The yard is ticking along at 3/19 over the past fortnight, which is acceptable rather than red-hot. At odds-on territory this shortens up, it is hard to take the price when National Pride offers a bigger margin.

Selection: National Pride at 11/4 with Boyle Sports. Haggas plus Fallon at Catterick is a combination that keeps paying.

3:15 Jacky Rylance 60th Birthday Celebration Handicap Stakes (2m, Good)

Nine runners over two miles, and this looks a competitive staying handicap with several horses winless in their last five. The ratings point clearly in one direction.

Fleur de Mer Each-Way (4/1, Boyle Sports) arrives as the top-rated runner on adjusted figures and she has demonstrated a real knack for finding the frame, with a second and a third in recent starts. Six-year-old mares who know how to fill a place in staying handicaps are exactly what you want at 4/1 each-way with three places on offer. She has run over two miles and handles good ground, and the 26-day freshener suggests Martin Todhunter has given her a quiet spell before this. The trainer’s 14-day figures are lean at 0/4, but Fleur de Mer brings her own form to the table regardless. The risk is she keeps finishing second and third without converting, which is precisely why each-way is the play rather than the win bet alone.

Slack Alice (9/4, Boyle Sports) is the market favourite and arrives third last time out over trip and going. Mickey Bowen’s yard is in decent shape at 2/6 over the past fortnight, and the weight advantage of 125lbs compared to rivals carrying 131-135lbs is meaningful over two miles. She is the obvious danger, but the price is short enough to make Fleur de Mer the each-way call.

Selection: Fleur de Mer each-way at 4/1 with Boyle Sports. Top-rated, proven at the trip and conditions, and three places on offer at 1/5 odds.

3:45 Hannah Blanchard 21st Birthday Handicap Stakes (6f, Good)

Eight runners over six furlongs and the figures give Call Glory the edge, though the each-way angles are worth considering in what is a competitive sprint handicap.

Call Glory (9/2, Boyle Sports) is trained by Ian Williams, who wins 17% at Catterick with an A/E of 0.98, and the yard is in decent form over the past fortnight at 5/40. Crucially, Call Glory is rated 64 here, making him the top-rated runner in the field. He has finished second twice in his last three starts, he handles six furlongs on good ground, and the horse simply knows how to be competitive in this grade. Tom Kiely-Marshall takes the ride, and the apprentice wins 19% at Catterick with an A/E of 1.58, suggesting he extracts value at this course. The 135lb burden is the concern, but the figures keep pointing back here.

Lucius Aurelius Each-Way (11/1, Boyle Sports) is worth a small each-way interest. Rated 63, second-highest in the field, he arrives with 20 days’ rest, handles the trip and going, and Jack Nicholls holds a remarkable 33% strike rate at Catterick with an A/E of 1.98. That number is extraordinary for a course jockey stat and deserves serious respect. At 11/1 each-way the place terms cover well enough.

Captain Cess (9/4, Boyle Sports) arrives on the back of a win and holds obvious claims, but the top weight of 138lbs is significant over six furlongs and the speed rating suggests he may have done enough to win comfortably last time in a weaker contest.

Selection: Call Glory at 9/2 with Boyle Sports, with Lucius Aurelius each-way at 11/1 as the value saver.

Today’s NAP

National Pride — Army Benevolent Fund/EBF Novice Stakes (2:15, Catterick)
Odds: 11/4 — Boyle Sports

William Haggas wins 34% of his Catterick runners and is firing at 9/48 over the past 14 days. Cieren Fallon lands 32% of his rides at this course with an A/E of 1.60, one of the most profitable course jockey stats on the card today. National Pride shaped on debut with a sixth that suggests the experience is banked, and seven furlongs on good ground suits a Haggas juvenile bred to improve. At 11/4, this is exactly the kind of trainer-jockey-course combination that represents real value rather than blindly following the favourite.