Course winner lto up 2lb wins at 25/1

This is how the BHA Official Handicapper will have viewed TRULY SPECIAL's previous  Win, last time out.

TRULY SPECIAL's last Win, before today, was off an Official Rating of - 51

By Threequarters of a length over a horse Rated 50 -
- with a horse Rated 49 (and then claiming a 3lb rider Allowance, too) a NECK behind in 3rd
A further NECK behind was a horse (compulsory) rated 46, in 4th.

The Form of the race has not really worked out... 7 Beaten outings from those 3 horses since

The 2nd did Win next time out - in a similarly poor race - by a Head from a horse that has finished 4th twice and last of 11, subsequently
The 3rd has been beaten 6 lengths, a length, and 4 lengths since - of the same 49 Rating mark
Showing that  the majority of these low-grade horses continue to either 'run on the spot', or worse.

The Stickler, though, is the 4th horse - Independent Angel (50/1) - beaten 3/4l and two Necks by the winner Truly Special.

Independent Angel 'ran off' an Official Rating of 46 - The Lowest rating any horse is allowed to/and can Run Off in a Handicap in Britain.
Of course - Independent Angel had Not run to anywhere near a 46 in 8 previous races - managing a 26 and a 29 (at 'Best') with the other 6 outings simply negligible.

Independent Angel has run again, since - finishing 7th, and returning to type by running to a comparative Official Rating of just 29,
and this  time with a further 5lb Claimer on it's back.

The race time for Truly Specials success was also relatively poor - 6.6 secs Slow for 5 furlongs.(Soft going)

To put TRULY SPECIAL up by something like 5 or 6lbs - would mean raising the runner-up by 3 or 4lbs -
The 3rd by 2 or 3lbs - and the '29 horse' Independent Angel by 1 or 2lbs - to 47/48
--------------

Truly Special has Won again, today -  by A Neck (twice)

Another 2 lbs, anybody.

Cheers, howard

At the real bottom end of the Prize-Money scale they do not get carried away with Winners. and 2nd placed horses - unless something wins by a couple of lengths, or so -

- whereas in Handicaps with much more Prize-Money, say The Wokingham or Royal Hunt Cup, then the First 3 horses will definitely All get Raised, along with the 4th (distance dependent) - as the Placed horses in those races will get more Prize-money than for Winning a Class 4 or Class 5 race.
-------------

Incidentally - Had TRULY SPECIAL been raised, say, 5 lbs - then instead of Winning yesterday by 2 Necks - the extra 3 lbs would how made it run 3rd - beaten 2 Necks, plus another Neck. 

I do agree with you on the Breeding, though, as I checked that out, too ...

The Dam - Pepper Lane - (same Owner) has foaled 4 other Winners (all Sprinters) and was a useful Sprinter, herself - Winning the Great St Wilfred Handicap, at Ripon, 2 years running -

The Great St Wilfred Handicap takes place, as usual, this coming Saturday