Back In Black

The highlight of Back In Black's career so far came at Newbury on 11 April 2025, where it won a Class 2 race — one of the top tier of races in Britain. That is not a race a horse stumbles into by accident. It signals a horse that can genuinely compete at a high level, and at a track like Newbury, which attracts some of the best-trained horses in the country, it means something. The first win came the previous August at Great Yarmouth, so in the space of eight months, Back In Black had gone from opening its account to winning a top-level contest.

The sweet spot in terms of distance is clear: over seven furlongs to a mile, this horse has won 2 of its 7 races — a win rate of 29%, or roughly 1 in every 3.5 races at that trip. That is meaningfully better than its overall record, and it suggests Fanshawe's team know exactly where to aim it.

The jockey picture is equally straightforward. Daniel Muscutt has been in the saddle for 9 of Back In Black's 11 races, and both wins have come with him aboard — 2 from 9 together, a win rate of around 22%, or better than 1 in 5. That kind of settled partnership matters. A jockey who knows a horse's quirks and preferences is worth more than the stats alone suggest.

The one note of caution is that Back In Black has not won in its last six races, with recent form reading 3-4-4-2-3-5 — a run of consistent placing without quite getting the job done. That Newbury win was 13 months ago, and the horse raced just yesterday, so it is clearly in active training. Whether it can add to its tally at Class 2 level — where it has won just 1 from 7 races — will define whether that Newbury win was a peak or a stepping stone.