High Opinion

The most interesting chapter in this horse's story is Nottingham. Two wins from six races there makes it a genuine course specialist, and that is more meaningful than it might sound. Racetracks have their own character — the camber of the bends, the way the ground drains, the shape of the straight — and some horses just click with a particular place in a way that defies easy explanation. High Opinion clicked with Nottingham, and that is exactly where it opened its career account back in October 2022.

The bulk of its racing has come at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter end of the racing calendar, where solid, consistent types earn their keep. Two wins from 16 races at that level (12%, or about 1 in 8) is in line with its overall record, which paints a picture of a horse that earns its place without dominating it.

The cloud hanging over this profile is that High Opinion has not won in its last six races, going 6th, 11th, 7th, 9th, 7th, and 8th in that stretch. Those are not near-miss performances — there is no unlucky second or close third hiding in there. The last win came at Ripon in August 2024, now 20 months ago. Regular jockey Andrew Breslin has ridden the horse 12 times and found the winner's enclosure just once together, a win rate of 8% — roughly 1 in 12. Both horse and rider are going through a difficult patch by any measure.

Still, Bryan Smart's yard is in good form this season, and a horse that has proven it can win at Nottingham is worth keeping an eye on next time it heads there. Form can turn quickly in racing, and a course where you have already won twice is usually where you want to be when it does.