Gabriel's Getaway

The career record — 4 wins and 8 places from 22 races, meaning he wins roughly 1 in every 5 or 6 attempts — tells the story of a horse who is competitive without being dominant. He places often enough to suggest he belongs at this level, but winning has never come easily. His biggest moment came at Doncaster in January 2024, a Class 2 race — one of the top races in Britain — where jockey Ben Godfrey described a frantic, attritional contest: "They cut each other's throats and he saw it out well." That is the mark of a tough, genuine horse. He was, as Godfrey put it, "in at the deep end" that day, and he delivered.

It is worth understanding what Gabriel's Getaway needs to be at his best. He has won all 4 of his races on normal ground — that is 4 wins from 13 races in those conditions, a win rate of 31%. On wet or muddy ground, he has never won. His early career was also complicated by temperament; Godfrey noted he "was a bit of a hothead" who took time to mature. A knock at Bangor and a run on unsuitable ground at Ludlow set him back, and he has not won in his last six races, with his last victory now 28 months ago.

His most productive partnership has been with jockey Rex Dingle — together they have won 3 of their 10 races, a 30% win rate that stands well above his overall record and suggests the combination brings out the best in him. Honeyball had hoped to target Aintree's Red Rum Chase, but a lameness issue ruled that out. The plan now is the big spring festivals, possibly the Grand Annual at Cheltenham — a race that would represent the highest level he has faced. At nine, with a long layoff behind him and a point to prove, those races will tell us whether the best of Gabriel's Getaway is still to come.