Five to Follow: Racing League Week 6

It is the final night in the 2025 Racing League - live on Sky Sports Racing - and what a roadshow it has been. Hugely competitive racing, over £2,000,000 in prize-money, and with it being ridiculously hard to find winners!

As we head into week six, Matt Chapman’s London and The South team hold a commanding 125-point lead over Charlie Fellowes’s East outfit, which looks pretty much unassailable at this stage. The work that goes into being a team manager has really come to the fore this year, and I reckon we should have a behind-the-scenes camera on them for the 2026 series! Matt’s impressive haul of 738 points has come from 67 runners over the last five weeks, thus meaning an average of 11.01 points per runner - so hats off Mr Chapman!

The race for third looks far more competitive. New manager Alex Steedman has been a breath of Scottish fresh air for Team Scotland. They have bellied their odds at the start of the competition. Currently lying in third place, they hold a 47-point lead over dual champions Wales and The West, with Team Yorkshire only a further nine points back. Leonna Mayor is the only one of these three team mangers to still have a joker (double points) in her pocket for Southwell, as this is their home meeting. She played a blinder with her first one at Wolverhampton, gaining a whopping 80 points with a first and third-place finish. This could be key to getting them onto the podium with a brilliantly-timed late run.

Here are a few equine athletes to keep an eye on in the run to the Racing League finishing line…

CRIMINAL

5.45 Racing League Race 36 Handicap (Class 4) 1m 4f

Three solid runs in maiden/novice company teed Criminal up for a big run on handicap debut at Ascot last month. He didn’t disappoint, showing battling qualities in the closing stages and only finding the William Haggas-trained Tenability too good on the day. That winner has won again since, with plenty of other form boosts in behind as well, so the race looks a solid source of future winners. Richard Hughes’s promising stayer is a winner waiting to happen, but he just needs to give himself a better chance by settling better in the early stages of his races. He’ll enjoy a likely stronger pace on offer this evening, provided by a bigger field, and it’s about time he got his head in front, as a bright future awaits. My best bet on the card.

KOSOMETSUKE

6.15 Racing League Race 37 Handicap (Class 4) 7f

Kosometsuke is developing the profile of a bridesmaid, finishing runner-up in each of his last three starts. Not the record punters would choose in a typically-competitive Racing League handicap. But I’m willing to give him another chance, despite his ever-increasing handicap mark for finishing second. The impression he created when winning easily at Kempton on his seasonal debut back in May suggested he might be an 80-plus horse. I still have him around there, and a return to an artificial surface here could be the key. A 47-day absence has allowed Roger Varian to hit the reset button with him, freshening him up, and I will be disappointed if he doesn’t at least grab a place over his ideal trip of 7f.

ARTISAN DANCER

7.15 Racing League Race 39 Handicap (Class 3) 2m ½f

Charlie Johnston has been a leading supporter of the Racing League and Team Scotland this season. He’s had 15 runners so far, including two winners and two second places. Artisan Dancer ran a cracking second at York’s Ebor meeting last week, only going down by a length and a quarter to Santorini Star in a competitive class 2 handicap over 2m. An all-weather winner at Wolverhampton last year, he must be a joy to own and train as he’s had 43 starts in his four-year racing career, winning six races and over £100,000 in prize-money. Here’s hoping he adds to that pot in the £50,000 stayers’ race on the card.

SKY ADVOCATE

7.45 Racing League Race 40 Handicap (Class 3) 1m

It’s fair to say connections of Sky Advocate will be disappointed by his regressive run of form this season, dropping 8lb in the ratings and not looking a decent betting proposition along the way. Every horse eventually finds its level though, and on a couple of bits of his best form Clive Cox’s grey must have every chance of shedding his maiden status this evening - at a juicy price as well! I don’t think he’s appreciated running on fast ground in each of his last three starts, as he’s a big strong horse who hits the ground hard. If nothing else, it’s helped his handicap mark in a big way, while a return to an artificial surface - which he loved last year - could also see a turnaround in form. Saffie Osborne has an unbelievable strike rate at this meeting and will be battling hard for points for her father’s Wales and The West team.

FANTASY BELIEVER

8.15 Racing League Race 41 Handicap (Class 3) 1m 3f

Fantasy Believer is currently hiding nowt from the handicapper, but running his usual solid race at a venue he enjoys might just be good enough here. Nothing in the line-up screams ‘well-handicapped’ to me, and the promise of a strong pace should suit Ed Walker’s habitual slow-breaker. The veteran finished in behind Crowd Quake in the Racing League at Chepstow earlier this month, but he’s now on 5lb better terms and I fancy him to give that rival much more of a race back at a venue he prefers. His consistency will always leave him vulnerable in competitive handicaps like this, and while he’s not one to throw the kitchen sink at, he does make plenty of each-way appeal.