The bigger picture is this: after finishing second at Uttoxeter, he picked up a hock injury that kept him off the track for nearly a year. That kind of setback at a critical age can derail a horse completely, and simply returning to racing is an achievement in itself. His trainer Gary Hanmer, who operates out of Tattenhall in Cheshire and has sent out 19 winners already this season, is clearly not treating this as a horse to be written off. Hanmer describes him as a nice horse for the future, one who is being pointed towards jumping fences — a step up in the sport that often suits horses who have not quite fulfilled their promise on the flat or over hurdles.
His recent form reads 5-3-7-2-5-5, which is patchy on the surface, but the second place and the third suggest there is talent in there waiting to be unlocked. He raced just yesterday, so he is very much an active project. At seven years old, and with fences still ahead of him, Barry Fife is one of those horses where the interesting part of the story may not have started yet.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uttoxeter Sharp |
4 | 1 second, 1 third, 2 other | 16 May | 0% |
| Wetherby Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 1 Feb | 0% |
| Southwell Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 17 Feb | 0% |