No Ordinary Joe

His first win came at Kempton Park on Boxing Day weekend 2022, but the more striking result is his most recent: a win at Sandown Park just two weeks ago, suggesting he still has plenty to offer at a decade old. In between those two victories he has finished in the places four times — always competitive, rarely the one lifting the trophy.

The puzzle at the heart of his profile is his record in the top races. No Ordinary Joe has run 12 times in Class 2 races — some of the best events in Britain — without winning any of them. That sounds like failure on paper, but trainer Faye Bramley, who operates out of Lambourn and has sent out 19 winners this season, paints a more nuanced picture. He has finished second in the Martin Pipe and third in the Greatwood, two of the most prestigious races of their type. Getting close in races like those is genuinely hard — these are fields packed with talented horses — and it tells you No Ordinary Joe belongs at that level even if he has not yet nailed it.

There was also a brief experiment over fences last season that did not go to plan — he was pulled up in his only attempt — but Bramley has not ruled out returning to that challenge. For now, the focus is on those big races over hurdles, where he keeps finding a way to stay relevant without quite seizing the moment.

His most regular jockey, Benjamin Macey, has yet to ride him to a win across five attempts together, though the Sandown success came in different hands. His recent form — a win, then a couple of mid-field finishes — suggests he is not at his very peak, but for a horse still racing competitively at 10 and winning as recently as a fortnight ago, the story is far from over.