Ancient State

The story started at Wolverhampton in March 2025, where Ancient State broke its duck for the first time. What followed has been a steady accumulation of form, culminating in a win at Southwell as recently as five weeks ago — a horse that raced just yesterday and is very much in the thick of things right now. That recent Southwell victory was the third win of its career and came at the level where Ancient State does most of its competing. At Class 6 — the entry-level tier of British racing, where most horses are finding their way or simply doing what they do best — it has won 2 of its 5 races at that grade, a 40% win rate that works out to winning roughly 2 in every 5 attempts. For context, most horses at any level would take that.

The recent sequence of results tells its own story: in the last six races, Ancient State has finished first, first, fourth, fifth, first, and second, reading from most recent backwards. That mid-run blip of a fourth and fifth now looks like a brief interruption rather than a warning sign, because the horse came roaring back on either side of it. Adam Kirby, who trains Ancient State from a yard in Kirtling on the outskirts of Newmarket, has clearly got this horse in a sweet spot. The yard has sent out one winner so far this season, and Ancient State is carrying the flag. With the horse having raced just yesterday and this kind of momentum behind it, there is every reason to think the best of Ancient State is being seen right now — not remembered.