Abduction

The headline result on his CV is a Class 2 win at Wolverhampton in October 2023 — one of the better races in Britain at that level, and a clear demonstration that Abduction can handle a step up in class when the conditions suit. Most of his racing life has been spent at Class 4 level, where he has won 6 of 32 races, roughly 1 in 5. That is a solid return at his bread-and-butter level. He also clearly has an affinity with normal ground, winning 3 of his 13 races in those conditions — a 23% win rate that suggests he is at his best when the track is neither too fast nor too soft.

What makes Abduction interesting right now is that he is in active, winning form. He joined trainer Jim Goldie's yard in Lanarkshire relatively recently, and Goldie — who has sent out an impressive 88 winners this season alone — clearly knows what he is doing with him. Abduction finished third on his first run for the yard, then ran even better at Doncaster despite a race that turned into a crawl-then-sprint, which is exactly the wrong kind of race for a horse who needs a strong, honest gallop from start to finish. The fact he still ran well in those circumstances says something about his current condition.

He won at Musselburgh just five weeks ago, and raced again only yesterday. His recent six-race form reads two wins, two placings, and two poor runs — the kind of sequence that tells you he is capable on his day but needs things to fall right. With Paul Mulrennan in the saddle for 16 of his races and 2 wins between them, that partnership is still finding its best. But with a lively yard behind him and a trainer who clearly has him in good shape, Abduction looks like a horse worth keeping a close eye on.