What time is the Hot Air Balloon Company Handicap?
The Hot Air Balloon Company Handicap is off at 19:08 on 1 July 2026 at Bath (Great Britain).
← All racecards19:08
Bath
Great BritainHot Air Balloon Company Handicap
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
5½f·Flat·Class 6·Firm·8 runners·£3,454
Furlong's verdict
Reading the form…
AI-written, grounded in our data on this race. May be wrong. Verify before staking. Opinion, not advice.
Selections by model
Head-to-head dashboard →v1.048.1/100 rating
Neptune Legend
3.25Bet365· informational only
Top-rated, but filter rejects this race
v1.1
No pick
Race outside the segment-edge filter
Each-way37.1/100 rating
Sisters In The Sky
9.00BetWright
Place portion settles at 2.60 · 1/5 odds · 3 places
Top-half AI rating in the EW price sweet spot. Each-way splits stake: half on the win, half on the place portion.
Racing Alpha pick
Neptune Legend
David Egan · Tony Carroll · 7yo
48.1/100
+1.6 vs next best (46.5)
The Racing Alpha rating combines four signals. Below is the breakdown — components driving this pick first.
- Freshness10% weight70strong2d since last run (quick turnaround)
- Form20% weight57averageLast 6: 6-5-7-1-1-5
- Trainer20% weight50averageTony Carroll: 10/50 winners last 14d (20%)
- Ratings50% weight39below averageOR 59 — highest combined rating in the field
MarketBest price 3.25 (Bet365) — market favourite. AI agrees with the market.
v1.3 rating · weights and method explained on /about. Tips are opinions, not advice.
Pace map
inferred from last 6 runsShape: Lone front-runner — could dictate from the front if unchallenged.
- Front-runners(1)
- Prominent(1)
- Mid-division(1)
- Hold-up / closers(4)
- Unknown(1)
Bucketed from the opening clause of each past run's comment. Front-runner / prominent / mid / hold-up — the classic race-shape framework. Unknown = no usable comments parsed.
Runners
| # | Dr | Horse | Jockey / Trainer | Form | Wt | OR | RPR | TS | AI | Fair | Best price | Add to betslip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 7yo · G · b | 657115 | 9-09 | 59 | — | — | 48.1 | 9/4·3.36 | 9/4·3.25Bet365 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 5yo · G · br | 10007 | 9-07 | 57 | — | — | 30.8 | 14/1·15.33 | 12/1·13.00Bet365 | ||
| 3 | 6 | 4yo · G · grbFT B | 26559 | 9-07 | 57 | — | — | 33.8 | 10/1·11.50 | 10/1·11.00Virgin Bet | ||
| 4 | 5 | 4yo · F · grt | 05557 | 9-05 | 55 | — | — | 32.9 | 13/2·7.67 | 11/2·6.50BetWright | ||
| 5 | 2 | 5yo · G · b | 234262 | 9-04 | 54 | — | — | 46.5 | 10/3·4.34 | 11/4·3.75Bet365 | ||
| 6 | 8 | 7yo · G · chp | 748349 | 8-09 | 45 | — | — | 37.1 | 10/1·10.86 | 8/1·9.00BetWright | ||
| 7 | 7 | 8yo · G · bp | 477038 | 8-09 | 45 | — | — | 35.6 | 16/1·16.61 | 12/1·13.00Bet365 | ||
| 8 | 3 | 4yo · F · btp | 352880 | 8-09 | 45 | — | — | 29.2 | 25/1·26.83 | 22/1·23.00Virgin Bet |
Fair= the market's own consensus: median price across 28–29 bookmakers per horse with the 28% overround stripped out. A green badge means the best book currently pays above that consensus — a price check, not a tip: the market can be wrong about a horse, this only tells you when a book stands out from it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the field size and distance of the 19:08 Bath?
5½f, Class 6, Flat, 8 runners declared.
What is the going for the 19:08 Bath?
Going is reported as Firm on Turf.
What is the Racing Alpha AI top pick for the 19:08 Bath?
The AI top-rated runner is Neptune Legend (score 48.1, best price 3.25). Methodology: ratings combine OR, RPR, TS, trainer 14-day form, days since last run and going.
Who is the favourite for the 19:08 Bath?
The market favourite is Neptune Legend at a best price of 3.25.
Racing Post verdict
Third-partySouthbank has been consistent at this level with several placed efforts and is well treated on his current mark. Neptune Legend is the main danger, having taken a win at Bath earlier this summer and remaining on a manageable handicap mark. Hidden Verse, now fitted with blinkers following a run where the ground appeared against him, adds to the interest. Our selection is Southbank.
Racing Post pick: Southbank
Editorial verdict from Racing Post via the Racing API — not generated by Racing Alpha.
Best price shown is the highest decimal price across bookmakers we track. Odds update every few minutes; settle at SP if unavailable. 18+ only · Bet responsibly · BeGambleAware.org