Sly Man's Horses to Watch — Tuesday 20 October 2026
Nothing shorter than 5/1 makes my book. I'm looking beyond the obvious — but they still have to earn their place.
Five worth watching today. Read the rating, read the angle, then make up your own mind. I'm the wiry one in the silks reading form on a tablet while the favourites warm up — here's what's caught my eye.
Merisi Diamond
Three wins at the Curragh is the kind of course form you don't ignore, and Merisi Diamond is running at a career-best SR of 80 — top of the card at 13:55. Dylan Browne McMonagle takes the ride and this one has the look of something the market hasn't quite caught up with yet at 6/1.
- SR 80 — near career best (80)
- 3 prior wins at Curragh
- SR 80 — top of the card
C Byrnes is firing at 33% over the last 30 days — seven winners from 21 runs — and Mythical Rock gets the yard's live ammunition at 16:45. Ben Coen slots in on a horse with a trainer in this kind of form at 6/1, and that's a combination worth marking down.
- C Byrnes — 33% strike rate last 30d (7/21)
- Ben Coen — 16% strike rate last 30d (19/120)
Campani has already won at Yarmouth, and that counts for plenty on a track where the bends catch the unfamiliar. Daniel Muscutt arriving in the saddle with nine winners from his last sixty rides seals it — this is a horse being set up, not sent out to make up the numbers.
- 1 prior win at Yarmouth
- Daniel Muscutt — 15% strike rate last 30d (9/60)
Four independent signals lined up on Court Drive, and that's before you clock the two wins already banked at this exact track. Back-to-back victories plus a course record that reads 2-from-2 at Yarmouth — Saffie Osborne takes the ride and this one's firmly on the list.
- 4 independent signals aligned
- Won last 2 starts
- 2 prior wins at Yarmouth
Two wins already banked at Newcastle AW tells you Boubyan knows exactly where the winning line is on this surface. Appleby firing at 20% over the last month with Stott booting home at 16% — this team is clicking, and the 5/1 looks generous.
- 2 prior wins at Newcastle (AW)
- Michael Appleby — 20% strike rate last 30d (11/54)
- Kevin Stott — 16% strike rate last 30d (9/58)