Fortunate Star

Start with Southwell. Fortunate Star has raced there 12 times and won 3 of them — that is 1 in every 4 visits to a track where plenty of horses never win at all. Finding a horse that genuinely clicks with a particular course is one of the more valuable things in racing, and Fortunate Star has clearly worked out what Southwell demands. Pair that with a love of normal ground conditions — 4 wins from 16 races, again 1 in 4 — and you begin to understand that this is a horse with a very specific comfort zone, and when the conditions line up, it delivers.

The sprint distance suits it best too. Over the shortest trips on the card, under five furlongs, Fortunate Star has won 3 from 11, better than 1 in 4. Short, sharp, and quick — that appears to be exactly what this horse was built for. It competes mostly at the entry level of the sport, but winning 5 of its 27 races at that level, roughly 1 in every 5, shows it is not just making up the numbers. It is competitive, and it has been competitive consistently enough to earn seven career wins in total.

The most recent of those wins came at Newcastle just seven weeks ago in early March 2026, which is a reminder that this horse is very much in form and very much active — it raced just yesterday. Its last six runs read 1-1-2-3-3-8, which shows a horse that has hit a productive patch after a slightly ragged middle spell. Two wins from its last six races is a strong recent return for any horse at this level.

Zak Wheatley has been the regular partner, riding in 24 of its 52 races together and winning twice — a modest 1-in-12 record that suggests the combination works steadily rather than spectacularly. Trainer Stephen Hanlon, based at Constable Burton in North Yorkshire, has sent out 3 winners this season from his yard. Fortunate Star, in good form and at home in the north, looks like it could easily be one of them again before long.