Farandaway

The breakthrough finally came at Newcastle on 19 March 2026, and it was worth the wait. What makes that first win meaningful is the context: trainer Grant Tuer, whose yard in Birkby, North Yorkshire, has sent out 24 winners this season alone, had suggested as far back as the previous autumn that the horse was talented enough but had been placed in the wrong races and simply run into better horses on the wrong days. That is a frustrating combination — unlucky rather than simply not good enough — and the Newcastle win looked like confirmation of that.

Since that day, the form has been striking. The last six races read second, first, second, second, third, fourth — put another way, Farandaway has finished in the first two in four of its last six outings. For a horse whose career win rate is 5%, that kind of consistency near the front is genuinely encouraging. The jockey Oliver Stammers, who has partnered the horse 14 times, is clearly comfortable with how it runs, even if turning those placed efforts into wins has been the persistent challenge.

One thing that stands out is where Farandaway has done its racing. Twelve of its 19 races have come at Class 5 level — the lower end of the British racing ladder — without a single win at that level, which sounds odd until you realise the Newcastle victory came elsewhere. Tuer has spoken about finding the right conditions rather than just the right company, pointing specifically to wet or muddy ground over five furlongs as the combination that could unlock more wins. At four years old and apparently still improving physically, this is a horse that has taken its time to find its feet but looks like it might finally be heading in the right direction.