Race Week 6 Preview - London & The South confident of securing first Racing League title at Southwell

London & The South will look to stamp its authority on Racing League as season five reaches its conclusion at Southwell on Thursday, August 28.

With a 125-point lead over closest challenger The East, Matt Chapman’s team is long odds-on to claim a maiden Racing League title having finished second in 2022 and third for the past two seasons.

London & The South starts the night with an overall total of 738 and another strong performance could see it eclipse Wales & The West’s competition record of 869 set in 2024.

Daniel & Claire Kubler have been London & The South’s leading training outfit so far in 2025, earning 170 points from 13 runners. They saddle popular nine-year-old Andaleep, who won on night one at Great Yarmouth and makes his 10th Racing League appearance in Race 41.

Hong Kong-bound Richard Kingscote has all but secured the £20,000 top jockey award. With 299 points on the board, London & The South’s number one rider leads second place Daniel Muscutt by 94, meaning Muscutt would need to win on all four of his mounts for The East at Southwell to snatch the prize.

Chapman said: “I am keeping everything crossed that Thursday goes well for London & The South. We have been consistent, with a team of happy trainers, happy jockeys and very supportive owners. All I have had to do is organise an excellent team.

“My trainers have been a joy to deal with throughout and people like George Scott and Chris Dwyer, who both joined the team later in the competition, have played blinders. I cannot thank them all enough and hope everyone feels like I have done them justice.

“There is no doubt that London & The South deserve this victory, although nothing is certain in horseracing. Mathematically, we should take all the beating and I think we have a strong squad for Southwell.

“I am delighted that Andaleep and Jimmy Speaking [Race 40] both line up again this week. They have been excellent for us this season, particularly Andaleep who is surely one of the most loved Flat handicappers in training.

“We have drafted in Rab Havlin to ride for us, with two of our jockeys Richard Kingscote and David Probert heading off to Hong Kong. If we win, it would be a nice payday for Rab as he will be entitled to some of the bonuses.

“Kingscote should win the Racing League top jockey award, which is a massive achievement in its own right. I know Richard was worried about the cost of shipping his dog to Hong Kong, so the £20,000 cash prize should help pay for travelling costs.

“Charlie Fellowes [of The East] told the team managers WhatsApp group that he is sending the strongest ever squad to a Racing League meeting, but then I saw that Charlie has declared one of his own horses, so that is very unlikely to be the case. If Charlie happens to pull this off, then fair play, it will be a miracle, because he has not been on it this time around without the help of Chris Hughes.”

The East can take encouragement from the closing fixture at Newcastle in 2022, when Wales & The West racked up 208 points, 128 more than London & The South, to claim the title.

Team manager Charlie Fellowes said: “Racing League is always good fun and I think we have done great. It looks as though we will be a clear second, although Chapman has a really bad squad this week. I assumed he would be much stronger, so I have been winding him up, saying that we have the strongest squad we have ever produced.

“We are going to need London & The South to absolutely capitulate but, if you look at the early betting, we are stronger than them in every race we have runners. It is such a shame that we don’t have anything in Race 39 because we had four decent entries but none of them could run for various reasons.

“On a personal note, I am looking forward to Tan Rapido in Race 42. He is thriving at the moment and has good course form. Crowd Quake led home a one-two for us at Chepstow and it would be great if him and Charmaine could repeat the trick in Race 41.

“Rohaan and Ormolulu look out of form in Race 38 but are definitely the class horses in the lineup and both have Southwell form, while Philanthropist is quirky but has a good draw [2] in Race 37, which could be key.

“Roger Varian has two nice chances in Kosometsuke [Race 37] and Indalo [Race 40], while Say What You See makes a quick turnaround for Liam Bailey in Race 36 after his good second at Newcastle last week.”

Race and winner graphics from Newcastle are available here

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