Sly Man's Jockeys Taking Aim — Monday 17 August 2026
The riders I'm watching today — the loaded books, the marquee bookings, the form jocks pinging the radar.
Five riders worth watching today. A loaded book is a market signal in itself — when a form jock has multiple chances, the yard sees the day as live. I read the diaries with one eye on the silks, one on the trainer form. Here's what's caught my eye.
⚡ Clifford Lee is running hot right now — three winners in seven days from a man who holds a steady 15% career rate — and tonight at Wolverhampton he converts at 23%, which is a number worth folding into your thinking before the 17:40. Velma Dinkley at SR 125 is the top booking, and Lee on an all-weather card at Wolves is exactly the kind of quiet, overlooked pairing that pays out while the crowd stares elsewhere.
- 3 winners in the last 7 days
- On Velma Dinkley (SR 125) in the 17:40
- 23% strike rate at Wolverhampton (AW) (5 from 22)
-
17:40
Velma Dinkley T: Faye Bramley50/1 Race at 17:40
-
18:10
Margaret's Pearl T: Lemos De Souza25/1 8th
-
18:40
Rex Regum T: Tom Clover4/1 🥈 2nd
-
19:40
Jungle Dance T: J. R. Jenkins5/1 🥈 2nd
-
20:10
Pure Moon T: Tom Clover7/1 10th
Hector Crouch
⚡ Hector Crouch is on fire right now — eight winners in the last seven days is not a blip, that is a man riding with his hands full and his head right. He picks up Nobelos in the 17:55, a horse carrying a speed rating of 139, and two rides at this strike rate from a man this hot is two rides worth marking.
- 8 winners in the last 7 days
- 18% career strike rate (811 rides)
- On Nobelos (SR 139) in the 17:55
- 17:55 Nobelos 11/1 4th
- 18:55 Ray Mon Dough 3/1 8th
Oisin Murphy
⚡ Murphy is running hot — five winners in the last seven days and a 21% career strike rate that already marks him out as someone worth following every single card. Six rides today, and with a 36% strike rate at Lingfield on the all-weather, this is the course where you back him without needing to be talked into it.
- 5 winners in the last 7 days
- 21% career strike rate (1315 rides)
- 36% strike rate at Lingfield (AW) (12 from 33)
- 14:30 Pequenita 11/8 🥈 2nd
- 15:00 Itica 9/4 6th
- 15:30 Le Rouge Chinois 6/4 🥈 2nd
- 16:00 Dark Brunette 11/2 🥉 3rd
- 16:30 Star Marian 9/2 6th
- 17:00 Boston Run 4/1 🥈 2nd
Cieren Fallon
⚡ Cieren Fallon is in the form of his life right now — seven winners in seven days is not a coincidence, that is a jockey riding with his hands full of confidence and his head screwed on straight. Get him onside in the 17:55, where Best Yet carries a speed rating of 125 and deserves a rider firing at exactly this temperature.
- 7 winners in the last 7 days
- 20% career strike rate (825 rides)
- On Best Yet (SR 125) in the 17:55
- 17:55 Best Yet 50/1 10th
- 18:25 Envision 3/1 4th
- 19:55 Pershalla 15/2 🏆 WON
Billy Loughnane
⚡ Billy Loughnane is arriving at this card on the back of six winners in seven days, and the booking agents who handed him just one ride today have badly undersold him. He lands on Mithaaly in the 17:55 — a horse carrying a speed rating of 94 — and a 19% career strike rate tells you this is not a man who wastes a quality mount.
- 6 winners in the last 7 days
- 19% career strike rate (1745 rides)
- On Mithaaly (SR 94) in the 17:55
- 17:55 Mithaaly 8/15 🏆 WON