This is the first in a series of articles based on the all weather. This initial article looks at sires – the fathers of the horses in question. Sire research is still an underrated method of horse racing research in my opinion. Indeed, on the all weather I feel it can give punters an edge as some sires perform better on the sand than on turf, while others the pattern is the other way round. Knowing these facts / stats can give you an invaluable edge in certain races. For this piece I am focusing on the only all weather course with a fibresand surface – Southwell.

The data for this article has been taken from January 1^st 2006 to December 26^th 2010 with profits/losses quoted to £1 level stakes.

Let us start by looking at the best performing sires in terms of strike rate at Southwell. I have only included sires that have had at least 40 runs: