Heavenly Heather

Her breakthrough at Newcastle came on 18 April 2025, and it arrived at odds of 200-1 — a price that tells you almost nobody saw it coming. Waggott herself admitted she thought the horse might finish sixth. But the trainer had also spotted something others had missed: a big, heavy-framed horse who takes enormous amounts of work to get fit, and who had put in serious graft in the weeks before the race. "We always knew she was a really good horse," Waggott said afterwards. "It was just getting her fit enough." That first win came in a top-two class race at Newcastle, which is a significant level for a horse that typically competes in the tier below — winning 2 from 9 at that lower level, or roughly 1 in every 5 races.

Her recent form backs up the idea that she is in the form of her life. In her last six races, she has finished 1st, 5th, 2nd, 5th, 4th, and 2nd reading back to front — three top-two finishes from six starts is the kind of consistency that marks a horse hitting a purple patch. She last raced just one day ago, so the team are clearly keeping her busy while she is in good shape.

Regular jockey Tom Eaves has partnered her in 9 of her 20 races, winning once together — roughly 1 in every 9 rides. That is not a barn-storming record, but given how much work this horse apparently needs before she reaches peak fitness, it is perhaps less about the jockey and more about whether Heavenly Heather has had enough racing to sharpen up. When the conditions are right and Newcastle's track is under her feet, she has shown she can compete at a high level — and at 5 years old, with the Carlisle Bell potentially on the horizon, there may be more to come.