Bopedro

That track is Newmarket, and Bopedro's relationship with it borders on obsession. He has raced there 13 times and won twice — a record that sounds modest until you consider the quality of those wins. In April 2023 he took a Class 2 race, then went back in August and did it again in the Newmarket July course's own Class 2 contest. Two wins from 13 races at one track might not sound like domination, but when those are the only two wins of his career, and they both came at the same place, against serious competition, you start to understand why trainer David O'Meara was already eyeing a return to Newmarket for a mile race even before the new season got going. "He likes the track there," O'Meara said in April, which, given the evidence, is something of an understatement.

The team around Bopedro has learned to read him carefully. After his second Newmarket win, O'Meara revealed it was the owner, Lee Bond, who suggested leaving off the visor — a small piece of equipment designed to focus a horse's attention — and that the switch seemed to freshen him up. It's the kind of detail that separates a horse who wins from one who merely competes.

Since that August 2023 victory, though, he hasn't won in six races, and his recent form — finishing sixth, eleventh, sixth, fourth, fourth, ninth — tells the story of a horse still knocking on the door without quite getting through it. O'Meara noted after a run at Epsom that the track was probably too sharp for him, which fits: Bopedro's best performances consistently come over a mile to a mile and two furlongs, where he has recorded both his wins from 34 attempts at those distances. He raced just yesterday, which means the yard are keeping him busy and believing in him. Whether Newmarket can work its magic again remains to be seen, but at ten years old, with a busy yard behind him — David O'Meara's string has produced 102 winners already this season — Bopedro looks like a horse with one more good day in him yet.