10 Horses To Follow Throughout The 2023 Flat Season

May 3 2023
6 min. read
Best flat horses to follow in 2023
Steve Mullington
By Steve Mullington

Here at the 888sport horse racing blog we have compiled a list of ten horses of varying ages, which we believe will be winning at some point or another during the 2023 Flat season.

You may want to pop these in your horse racing trackers for convenience.

Flat Horses To Follow 2023:

  • Aldous Huxley (4yo John & Thady Gosden)

  • Billie Frechette (2yo Noel Meade)

  • Catch Cunningham (4yo Kevin Ryan)

  • Eidikos (4yo Ed Bethell)

  • Great Max (4yo Alice Haynes)

  • Indemnity (3yo Roger Varian)

  • Korker (4yo Karl Burke)

  • Measure Of Magic (5yo Johnny Murtagh)

  • Red Riding Hood (2yo Aidan O’Brien)

  • Slipofthepen (3yo John & Thady Gosden)

888sport

Aldous Huxley

Brother to Group-placed UAE 1m dirt winner Al Nefud out of a 1m2f winner including AW/Listed. A clear-cut winner of a 1m2f novice stakes at Kempton in March 2022 before finishing second at Newmarket over the same distance.

He then finished second once again in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood over 1m3f in May of last season.

If he has progressed and filled out over the winter then the Godolphin-owned gelding should turn out to be a formidable opponent in middle distance races this coming summer you would like to think.

Billie Frechette

An interesting Zoffany filly whose dam was a 6-time winner in France.

A half-sister to Ottilien (Joseph O’Brien) and Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Morandi (JC Rouget), from the Lord Glitters family.

She cost €28,000 at the Goffs Ireland sales. Zoffany crossed with Bering's progeny have a good record and Noel Meade’s two-year-olds often go quietly unnoticed, flying under the betting radar.

Catch Cunningham

If you are looking for a horse to pop up and win races at York this season, look no further than Catch Cunningham.

The gelding showed signs of maturing last season and his victory at York in an Apprentice Handicap promised plenty for the future. Kevin Ryan is patient with his sprinters and he could well turn into a top end handicapper this season.

Don’t be surprised if he wins one of the big handicaps at either the Dante of Ebor meetings at York this year.

Eidikos

This four-year-old filly hasn’t won since her debut back in August 2021 but connections hold her in high regard given that she has done well in Listed company and was thought good enough to take her chance in the Grand Prix de Fontainebleau in France where she finished a respectable third.

If she has come on any more over the winter then she could well spring a few surprises this season and she is highly unlikely to be overbet on the days when she lines up.

Great Max

Won as a two-year-old for Michael Bell on debut but a repeat of that victory unfortunately hasn’t materilaised just yet. To be fair he has been running in good company though.

Now a gelding he has recently moved yard to Alice Haynes so hopefully different surroundings will perk him up. He ran with credit in Newbury’s Spring Cup and holds an entry at Newmarket over the Guineas weekend.

Handicaps look the order of the day for this Amo Racing-owned four-year-old and these Wootton Bassett’s often come into their own a couple of seasons in.

Indemnity

Owned by Highclere Racing, this son of Lope De Vega is yet to race but he does hold a Derby entry for which he is a 66/1 chance in the betting.

Bought for 200,000 guineas as a yearling, his pedigree page has been franked as his half -sister, Sea Silk Road, won a Listed race and placed in two Group races, while his half- brother, Andaleep, has won five races. 

Indemnity could well spring a surprise or two this season and Highclere look to have another great syndicate horse on their hands.

Korker

Karl Burke’s four-year-old can be rather unruly whilst in the stalls and showed this tendency a few times last year, which ultimately cost him defeat at Ascot in the biggest race of his career.

He is likely to come on again this season and if they have managed to iron out his stalls issue then York and Haydock will be the main venues you will see Korker strutting his five furlong sprinting stuff.

Measure Of Magic

This talented mare seems to have lost her way a little over the past 12 months however despite being winless since 2021 she has still produced top performances at the highest level, including finishing third in the Commonwealth Cup and placing at both Group 2 & 3 level. 

If Murtagh can work his magic with her again then she looks the type to be picking up her fair share of handicaps this season.

Red Riding Hood

This daughter of Justify caught the eye when second to Jackie Oh in a fillies maiden at Naas in March, which funnily enough was won by Tuesday last year.

She then went on to win a three runner affair at short odds at Dundalk, despite veering right but connections put that down to the weather conditions that day.

She could well be another Tuesday so it is well worth casting your eye over the early ante-post markets for the season ahead, starting with the Oaks at Epsom for which Red Riding Hood is a 33/1 chance in our online horse racing betting.

Slipofthepen

Running in the famous silks of His Majesty The King, Slipofthepen holds a whole string of top class entries including the Derby and 2,000 Guineas.

Sent off a short priced favourite on debut last season, he unsurprisingly bolted up and his potential was there for everyone to see.

Impressive at Kempton on the 10th April, he has clearly progressed over the winter and a big season is expected from him in 2023. He will bypass the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in favour of either the French Guineas or Royal Ascot.

*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

About the Author See all Steve Mullington Articles
Steve Mullington
Steve Mullington

Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.