Fast Fred

The most interesting thing about Fast Fred is what wet or muddy ground does to him. On a soft or heavy track he has won 2 of his 6 races — that is 1 in every 3, compared to his overall average of roughly 1 in 6. That difference is significant. It suggests he is not simply a decent horse who happens to like the wet, but a horse who is genuinely transformed by it. His most recent win came at Musselburgh five weeks ago, and he raced again just yesterday, so there is clearly no shortage of appetite from trainer Phillip Makin's yard at Easingwold, which has sent out 9 winners this season.

His recent form reads 8-2-1-2-6-6 going back through his last six races. Strip away the two disappointing finishes at the back of that sequence and what you see is a horse who has been placed or better four times in his last six outings — including that Musselburgh win and two runner-up finishes. That is a horse in decent nick, not one running out of steam.

The one question mark sitting over Fast Fred is the level at which he typically competes. He has run 14 of his 28 races in Class 5 company — the lower end of the ladder — and won just 1 of those 14, which is a fairly modest 7% win rate in that grade. His first career win came at Redcar in October 2024, and his progress since has been measured rather than explosive. Jockey Rowan Scott has been in the saddle for 10 of his races together but they have only connected for 1 win between them, suggesting the partnership is still finding its rhythm. Fast Fred is not a horse chasing glory at the top table — but on the right day, with rain in the forecast, he is well worth keeping an eye on.