Liberty Lane

That climb has been steady and deliberate. The first top-level wins came at Class 2 level — Doncaster in 2023, then two at Newmarket in 2024 — before Liberty Lane stepped up to Class 1 company and didn't flinch. A win at Goodwood in May 2025 was followed by another at Newmarket in November, and jockey Clifford Lee, who has partnered the horse to all five of his wins together from 17 races (a win rate of 29%, or nearly 1 in 3), described Goodwood as probably the best performance of his career. That is saying something for a horse who had already won at the highest level.

Newmarket is where Liberty Lane truly thrives. Three wins from eight races there is a remarkable record at a track where the best horses in the country regularly line up. The famous Dip — a dip and then a sharp rise to the finish line — seems to suit him perfectly. As jockey Shane Gray put it after the November win, Liberty Lane simply got into a rhythm, hit the line well, and relished climbing that hill. He loves it there, and it shows.

Wet or muddy ground is the other key to understanding this horse. In five races on soft or heavy ground, he has won three of them — a 60% win rate that is almost unheard of. Trainer K R Burke, whose yard has sent out 140 winners already this season, has indicated that future plans depend on the ground, with the horse's the yard happy to wait for conditions to suit rather than run him on fast ground where he is less effective.

Recent form shows a fourth place last time out, but with only one race to go on since his Newmarket victory seven months ago, it would be premature to read too much into it. The yard remains optimistic, the horse is still active, and when the rain comes and Newmarket appears on the schedule, Liberty Lane becomes one of the most compelling names in the field.