Herakles

Midgley knows exactly what makes this horse tick. Herakles opened his account at Newcastle back in December 2022, and his trainer pinpoints why that venue suited him so well: the stiff five-furlong straight there demands a horse that keeps finding more, rather than one that relies on a quick turn of foot. Herakles has that quality. He is also described as unusually well-balanced — the kind of horse that handles the ups and downs of a track like Ripon without losing his rhythm, which is not something every horse manages on a course that tilts and curves as much as it does.

His current form is the best reason to pay attention right now. His last six runs read 4-4-4-4-2-1, meaning he has finished in the top four every single time — and capped it with a win at Nottingham just this week. That recent victory is not some distant memory to be treated with caution; it is fresh, and it suggests a horse in the best form of his season. He has raced just once in the last two days, which tells you the yard is keeping him busy and confident about his current condition.

The numbers around ground conditions are worth noting. On normal ground — the standard, neither wet nor baked conditions that racing ideally runs on — he has won 2 from 6, which is a win rate of 33%, or roughly 1 in every 3 races. That is a big jump from his overall figures and suggests he is operating somewhere close to his ceiling when conditions suit. Jockey Paul Mulrennan has partnered him 14 times, winning twice — a win rate of 14%, or about 1 in 7 — and that familiarity clearly counts for something. A horse who races often, finishes consistently, and just won this week: Herakles is not flashy, but right now he is very much one to keep an eye on.