Hove has a trap bias problem, and if you're not aware of it, you're giving away edge. Over the last 50 races, trap 4 has won 11 from 36 runners for a 30.6% strike rate. To put that in perspective, the expected win rate for any individual trap in a six-runner field is roughly 16-17%. Trap 4 is converting at nearly double the baseline.
At the other end, trap 5 has won just twice from 28 runners, a 7.1% win rate. Trap 6 isn't much better at 13.5% from 37 runs. The outside boxes at Hove are struggling, and the numbers are consistent enough across the sample to take seriously. If you're backing a dog drawn in 5 or 6 at Hove, you need a very good reason beyond the form figures.
Traps 1 and 3 are both performing solidly at 22.7% and 23.3% respectively, suggesting the inside-to-middle path is where the racing line works best. Trap 2 sits slightly below average at 15.9%, which may reflect the squeeze between the rails runner and the middle pack at the first bend.
The average winning time at Hove over this sample is 27.74 seconds, which reflects the mix of distances on the card. What the times don't show is the interference patterns. Hove's bends are tight enough that early pace from the inside matters more than raw speed from wide. A mid-pace dog in trap 4 gets the best of both worlds: enough room to avoid the first-bend scrimmage, but not so wide that they lose ground on the rail. That's where the 30.6% comes from.