Alyara

The bulk of Alyara's career has been spent at Class 6 level, which is the entry-level tier of British racing — the races where horses like this one find their best chance of competing. Even there, the record reads 2 wins from 45 races, or just 4%, so these are hard-earned results rather than easy pickings. The sweet spot in terms of distance is a mile to a mile and two furlongs, where both career wins have come: 2 from 28 races at those trips, a 7% win rate that is noticeably better than the overall picture. It is not a dramatic edge, but it is a real one.

The first win came at Ffos Las in August 2022, and the second — more recently — at Southwell in December 2024, around 17 months ago now. That gap between wins tells its own story. Alyara has gone the last six races without troubling the judge, finishing no better than third in that run, and the recent form of 6-7-3-4-5-7 suggests a horse finding life competitive at the moment rather than one on the cusp of something. Trained by Joe Ponting, whose yard in Wotton-Under-Edge has sent out three winners this season, Alyara is typically partnered by Dylan Hogan — the pair have won 1 from 6 races together, a win rate of around 1 in 6, which is actually the most encouraging number in this horse's profile.

Alyara raced just yesterday and is clearly still active and well within Joe Ponting's plans. At 8 years old, with 64 races behind it, this is a horse that has been around the block many times. Expectations are modest, but modest expectations have a way of being met — and for a horse like this, a place on the board or a third win somewhere down the line would be a perfectly satisfying chapter.