Betweenthesticks

The clearest sign of what Betweenthesticks can do comes at Pontefract, where it has won 2 of just 3 races. Winning two-thirds of your visits to any track is the kind of record that makes trainers reach for the entry form every time the course comes around — and that is exactly what happened in April 2026, when the horse landed another win there just three weeks ago. Pontefract is a tight, testing circuit that rewards horses who know the job, and Betweenthesticks clearly knows it well. Normal conditions bring out the best in this horse too: 4 wins from 12 races on standard ground is a win rate of 33%, or 1 in every 3 starts — a genuinely strong number.

Ruth Carr, training out of Stillington in North Yorkshire, has had a productive season — 63 winners sent out, which is a significant volume for any yard and speaks to the quality of horses she places carefully rather than ambitiously. Her assessment of Betweenthesticks is telling: she calls it genuine and straightforward, a horse that was a really good buy and has been fun for its owners. In racing, those words carry weight. Not every horse makes life easy, and one that is consistent, uncomplicated, and keeps finding the winner's enclosure is worth its weight in stable morale. Jockey Rose Dawes has ridden the horse 13 times, winning 2, and the partnership clearly has an understanding.

Recent form makes for encouraging reading: two wins in the last six races, including those back-to-back placed efforts, and the horse raced just yesterday. Competing mainly at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing — Betweenthesticks has won 3 of 25 races at that grade, but the overall picture is of a horse that punches reliably within its level rather than flattering to deceive. At six, it should have more chapters left to write.