Ghost Mode

The headline moment came at Chester on 13 September 2025, a tight, peculiar little circuit that suits horses with specific qualities — balance, a willingness to hug the rail, an ability to handle sharp bends. Winning there at Class 2 level, one of the top tiers of British racing, on a debut win is no small thing. Chester doesn't hand out favours to horses that aren't up to it, and Ghost Mode clearly was.

Then came Southwell in March 2026, a second win and a reminder that this horse is no one-trick pony. Six places and wins in its last six outings reads 9-7-1-2-1-2, and that recent sequence — two wins sandwiching a couple of placed efforts — tells the story of a horse that rarely runs a bad race. Finishing in the top three in 6 of 8 career races means it has placed or better on 75% of its starts. In racing terms, that is a horse that consistently earns its keep.

Behind it all is Andrew Balding's yard at Kingsclere in Hampshire, one of the most productive training operations in Britain right now. Balding's team has sent out 202 winners this season alone — a figure that reflects not just the size of the yard but the quality of its horsemanship. Sending a three-year-old out to win at Chester and Southwell is exactly the kind of patient, well-judged campaign Balding's operation is known for.

Ghost Mode raced just one day ago, so it is very much a horse in the middle of its story. At Class 2 level, winning 1 from 4 races at that grade is a 25% win rate — solid rather than spectacular — but the trajectory here is upward. A Chester winner, a recent Southwell win, and a trainer firing on all cylinders: there are plenty of reasons to keep an eye on this one.