Wolverhampton AW, Tuesday 18 August 2026

Wolverhampton AW, Tuesday 18 August 2026

The York Ebor Festival is hogging the spotlight this week, and fairly so, but Wolverhampton’s evening card offers a tidy six-race programme on a Standard surface that suits horses who know the Dunstall Park track. Three races stand out for punters looking for angles, and at least one price on the card deserves serious attention. Let’s get into it.

5:30 — Download The At The Races App EBF Restricted Maiden Stakes (1m1½f)

Selection: Franschhoek (10/11, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Six runners, but this is not as competitive as it first appears. Franschhoek is a James Fanshawe three-year-old who showed a placed effort on debut, and Fanshawe does not send horses to Wolverhampton for a day out. The yard has been ticking over at 4/21 in the last fortnight, a respectable clip, and this gelding steps up in trip to a mile-and-a-furlong-and-a-half which looks like a natural progression call from connections.

The main market rival is Saifo at 2/1 for David Simcock, but Simcock’s yard has drawn a blank in ten attempts over the past two weeks. Why Not Me, the 4yo filly carrying 131lbs for Oisin Murphy, is the other to consider. Murphy is the course’s leading jockey at 22% strike rate, but Stuart Williams has only hit at 13% recently, and the filly’s last run was incomplete. At odds-on, Franschhoek needs to win rather than place, but the trip, the progressive profile, and a trainer who picks his spots carefully all point the same way.

Bet: Franschhoek to win at 10/11

6:00 — Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Restricted Novice Stakes (7f, 12 runners)

Selection: Maliqui Each-Way (5/2, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Twelve two-year-olds over seven furlongs on the all-weather, and this is a proper puzzle. The market is topped by Javelot at 11/8, trained by Marco Botti, whose yard has been in decent form at 4/19 in the last 14 days and who has Silvestre De Sousa in the saddle. De Sousa knows Wolverhampton as well as anyone, with 151 wins here and a course presence that counts at seven furlongs. Javelot is fair value at the price if you are playing it safe.

The each-way play, however, is Maliqui for Charlie Fellowes and Oisin Murphy. Fellowes has been in genuinely sharp form with 3 winners from 10 runners in the last fortnight, and Murphy on a course where he wins at 22% is always a combination worth noting. Maliqui is unraced publicly according to the form figures but that makes the stable confidence reflected in Murphy’s booking all the more telling. At 5/2 in a 12-runner field with three places on offer at 1/5 odds, the each-way structure is generous. Peaberry at 11/4 for Tom Ward also catches the eye as a market rival, but Fellowes and Murphy in combination at this track is the stronger angle.

Bet: Maliqui each-way at 5/2 (3 places, 1/5 odds)

6:30 — Visit wolverhampton-racecourse.co.uk Handicap Stakes (7f, 10 runners)

Selection: Inside Story Each-Way (5/2, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Note that Haaderr is a non-runner, which tidies the field to nine and removes the Edward Bethell hotpot that was attracting market confidence. Percy’s Lad has shortened into 9/4 favouritism on the back of a recent win and a strong profile over today’s conditions, and the comment data backs his place at the head of the market. He is the obvious choice to beat.

The angle, though, is Inside Story for James Tate and Silvestre De Sousa. Tate is one of the more reliable yards at Wolverhampton, with a 19% course strike rate, and De Sousa has ridden more winners at Dunstall Park than almost anyone in the weighing room. Inside Story carries 132lbs for a three-year-old filly, which is a workable impost, and her rating of 88 makes her the highest-rated runner in the field after the non-runner. The concern is a winless run of five, but second last time out on a similar surface and trip suggests the ability is present. At 5/2 with three places paid, this filly has each-way claims that the market has not fully priced in given the Haaderr withdrawal boosting her chances.

Padua at 8/1 is also worth a small each-way interest for Hector Crouch, who wins at 17% around here. The stall-one draw on a track where the inner tends to suit is a tactical advantage, and 132lbs from a prominent early position could see him involved in the finish.

Primary Bet: Inside Story each-way at 5/2 (3 places, 1/5 odds)

Today’s NAP

Maliqui — Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Restricted Novice Stakes (18:00, Wolverhampton)
Odds: 5/2 — Boyle Sports (others: 5/2 Betfred, 5/2 LiveScore Bet)

Charlie Fellowes has been striking at 30% in the last fortnight and the booking of Oisin Murphy, the course’s standout jockey at 22% wins at Wolverhampton, signals genuine confidence. In a wide-open 12-runner novice, the trainer-jockey combination at this track is as strong a pointer as any form figures, and the each-way terms across three places make this outstanding value at the price.

Each-Way Recommended 3 places at 1/5 odds