Head For Freedom

The recent sequence of 9-4-13-2-2-3 is worth reading carefully. That ninth and thirteenth suggest some inconsistency, but the three placings in between show a horse capable of running well when things click. Four places from nine career races overall is actually a reasonable haul — it means Head For Freedom has finished in the top three or four nearly half the time, which is more than many horses at this level manage. The puzzle is converting that into wins.

Joanna Mason has been the regular partner, riding in five of those nine races and picking up the one win between them. That gives the pair a 20% win rate together — one win from every five rides — which is a decent return at this level even if the wins themselves have been slow to stack up. The yard behind the horse, run by the father-and-son team of Michael and David Easterby at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire, is clearly in fine form: 55 winners already this season is a serious number and suggests the operation knows how to get horses ready to run well.

The one question mark is the level Head For Freedom has been competing at. Five races at Class 5 — the lower end of the British racing ladder — have produced no wins at all, which is a little surprising for a horse that has shown enough ability to place regularly. Whether the team looks to drop into easier company, or tries a different track or ground to unlock something, will be interesting to watch. For now, this is a horse sitting right on the edge of another win — close enough to keep you watching, but not quite delivering.