Arkenstaar

What makes him tick? Partly the track itself. Dods has noted that Arkenstaar is a horse who grinds it out — he builds momentum and finishes hard rather than quickening in a flash — and he thrives on circuits with a stiff uphill finish. Hamilton fits that bill perfectly, as do Carlisle, Pontefract, and Beverley. He is not a horse who wins pretty; he wins by grinding his rivals into the ground on the way to the line. His trainer also made a point of mentioning that he showed real guts at Hamilton when horses were crowding him from both sides. That is a good sign of character.

Wet or muddy ground is another weapon in his locker. On soft or heavy ground he has won 4 of 9 races — 44%, nearly 1 in every 2 — which suggests that when conditions get testing and lesser horses start to struggle, Arkenstaar is just getting comfortable. Add in the fact that he has won 3 of his last 6 races, with form figures reading 3-4-1-1-2-1, and this is a horse operating right in the middle of a purple patch.

Much of that recent success has come with jockey Connor Beasley in the saddle. Together they have won 6 of their 22 races — 27%, well above 1 in every 4 — and there is clearly a settled partnership there. Dods himself is having a strong season, sending out 43 winners from his yard, so the horse is in good hands at a good time. He last won at Pontefract in October 2025 and raced just one day ago, so the team is clearly keeping him busy. At his level and on his favourite tracks, he remains a horse that anyone racing at Hamilton Park should take very seriously indeed.