Northcliff

The headline fact is Ascot. Most horses run at that grand old track once, maybe twice, and get found out. Northcliff has won 2 of its 4 races there — that is half its visits converted into wins, at a course where even the best horses in Britain regularly leave empty-handed. The most recent of those came in May 2025, which means Northcliff has beaten proper competition at the highest-profile venue in the sport and done it more than once. That is not a fluke; that is a horse that seems to genuinely relish the place.

The other thing worth noting is what the ground does for this horse. On fast, dry conditions, Northcliff wins 3 from 13 — roughly 1 in every 4 races, which is a sharp improvement on its overall rate. Trainers and teams chase these edges constantly, and when Thomas Faulkner's yard at Devauden sees a dry forecast and an Ascot entry, the combination must feel very encouraging. The yard has been in decent form this season, sending out 16 winners, so this is not a quiet operation.

The less comfortable truth is that Northcliff has not won in its last six races, with recent finishes reading 8th, 11th, 10th, 10th, 15th, and 10th — well beaten each time. David Allan, who has ridden the horse 12 times, is still waiting for a first win together between them. These are numbers that suggest Northcliff may be going through a flat patch, which happens to even the most course-savvy horses. It raced just one day ago, so clearly the team are keeping it busy and looking for the right opportunity.

At Class 4 level — the solid, competitive middle ground of British racing — Northcliff has won 2 from 18, about 1 in every 9 races. Nothing spectacular. But that Ascot record suggests that on the right day, on dry ground, at its favourite track, this is a horse that punches well above what the overall numbers would lead you to expect.