Newyorkstateofmind

His trainer Ruth Carr runs a busy, productive yard in Stillington, North Yorkshire — 63 winners this season alone — and she knows this horse well enough to be specific about what he needs. He handles the artificial all-weather surfaces with particular ease: six of his nine career wins have come on them, and on turf, he needs fast, dry ground to show his best. When the ground goes soft or heavy, he's a different horse. Carr was candid that his return run at Wolverhampton after his winter break was a disappointment, but she quickly identified a race at Thirsk that looks more suitable — the sign of a trainer who knows exactly where to place a horse like this.

Hamilton Park stands out on his record. Two wins from six races there makes it his best course by conversion rate — roughly 1 in every 3 — which for a horse winning 1 in 13 overall tells you he genuinely thrives around that track. His most regular partner is James Sullivan, who has ridden him to 3 of his 5 career wins from 30 races together, winning roughly 1 in 10. That kind of long-running partnership matters — Sullivan's post-race comment after a Lingfield win that he is "very honest and genuine" and that the gap opened up for them in the straight suggests a horse that races with his head, not just his legs.

He hasn't won in his last six races, and his most recent run — just yesterday — showed a finishing position of second, which at least indicates he's still competitive. His last win came at Newcastle in September 2024, almost 21 months ago now. The target at Thirsk is on the horizon, and if the ground comes up right, there's every reason to think Newyorkstateofmind has at least one more win left in him.