What the pattern suggests
Stall 1 at Southwell has a reputation as the 'coffin box', but it isn't quite that bad. As mentioned in the 5 furlong analysis, there is a strip of ground down the middle which is thought to be quicker, so the best draw is probably neither too low, missing that faster strip, nor too high, with further to travel — stall 3 or thereabouts looks about right. But the overall conclusion is that horses can win from anywhere.
How to read the chart
Each mark represents a winning stall number plotted against the total number of runners. This reveals whether winners repeatedly cluster towards the low, middle or high side.
The source chart covers horses aged three and older in handicaps from 2024–2025.
Stall-numbering note: Stalls at Southwell's all-weather course are always positioned on the inside of the track.
Historical winning-stall chart
|
WINNING STALL NUMBER | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||
| No
of R U N N E R S |
8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | x | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | H'caps Only 2024 - 2025 |
|||||||||||||
| 10 | 111 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | 111 | 11 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | ||||||||||
How to use the bias
- Pace: identify where the likely early leaders are drawn and which runners can secure a good position.
- Going: consider whether the inside or outside is riding faster on the day.
- Field size: draw effects are often more meaningful when runners are crowded into larger fields.
- Recent evidence: rail movements, watering and weather can alter the effective bias.
Conclusion
Stall 1 at Southwell has the reputation as the coffin box, but its not quite that bad. As mentioned in the 5 Furlong analysis there is a strip of ground down the middle which is thought to be quicker, and therefore probably the best place to be is not really low as to miss this faster strip nor really high so horses have further to travel but the 3 box is about perfect. But the conclusion is that horses can win from anywhere.