Picking National Hunt winners can be made a lot easier if you combine the basic principles of picking winners with a handful of additional principles that apply specifically to the National Hunt code of horse racing. That’s because the ability to handle much longer racing distances and to jump obstacles in an effective manner has a direct influence on the chances of a horse winning.

As always, you can’t go too far wrong by focusing on horses that won their previous races. Previous wins over the course and distance are also very good indicators of future winning potential. But in addition to those basic factors (see our Simple Form Ratings System for a good way to generate simple ratings) you would do well to give additional consideration to the following:

Going – The going conditions have a big influence over the chances of a horse winning, and just because a horse previously won over good going doesn’t mean that it will run so well over soft ground. Ideally the horse should have previously performed well over similar going as it will be racing over next time. Of course, this principle also applies to flat racing, but with the longer distances of National Hunt races it is particularly important.

Winning Distances – Although it is common in flat racing for winners to claim victory by a nose or a head, in National Hunt racing an emphatic win would need to be measured in lengths. If you are considering betting on several last time out winners, you might want to give preference to the ones that won by at least a length or more. This would give the horses a chance of winning even if they race a tad less well then they did previously.

Jumping Ability – Focusing on previous winners rules out the chance of betting on a horse that failed a jump last time out, but that doesn’t automatically mean that the horse jumped particularly well. If you are thinking of placing a significant bet with an online bookmaker you would do well to check the detailed form comments at the Racing Post website to find out how the runner jumped previously. If it jumped well, go ahead and bet, but if it came close to falling you can decide whether or not it might be prudent to reduce your stake.

Add consideration of these three factors to the usual range of traits that you use to pick winners in general and the task of picking national hunt winners should prove much easier. And with the 2009/10 National Hunt season still in its infancy, you now have several months of profit-making winners to look forward to!