1 - Don’t loose heart especially early on. The first few weeks are basically all group races until the handicaps thin things out and it can be a brutal reality check.

2 - try and preserve your ratings, handicaps will be your best chance for wins, and one half decent group race result can wipe out a season (new handicapping may chance this).

3 - some of us have been doing this for years, and we have all had a first season where you can’t buy a winner.

4 - a win, any win in any race is a massive achievement.

5 - many factors can effect race performance and results. Just because a horse runs badly does not mean it’s a bad horse

Good luck.

And one final note you’re more likely to win a race if Josh hasn’t got a runner!

not this season, I am badly prepared on the flat and in the process of transitioning my NH lines. I am aiming for the handicaps

Well said, great advice, thanks for that. I already decided not to run my horses in class 1 races too much in early parts of the season, because the ratings would cause disadvantages for them in that case. My horses will be managed carefully (or at least I'll try to manage them carefully ) and I will focus mostly on handicaps and hunter chases.

Good luck to everyone, DanSolaris.

The first week is brutal, but don't give up. There will always be something to cheer during the season.

Really happy to be back, the league looks in such a great place.

1st timer here. What sort of mark do you want to be on to win a HC? Alot of mine ran better than expected today and finished in the 1st 6, as a result they're now rated in the 90s. Is that too high to have any success?

There are handicaps all the way down to 0-60 I think, certainly 0-70 and plenty in the 0-90 and 0-100 range which is where most of yours will want to be landing when they can. As a rookie I would say that's an excellent start, you beat some old hands in some of those races, so will likely be able to aim higher over the course of the season. The right G1H might be worth a nibble if all the elements suit.

And you might want to check your horses Dan Solaris, having two 'run green' in the league is not a good sign.