On The River

The key to understanding this horse is the ground. When the rain comes and the courses get wet, On The River transforms. On wet ground he has won 5 from 10 races — that is 50%, which is an extraordinary conversion rate. Even on very wet, muddy ground he wins 2 from every 5 attempts. Bethell has spoken openly about needing to wait for the right conditions, and it clearly pays off. His most recent win, at Carlisle in June 2025, came after a spell where he had lost his way — and the team only ran because the soft ground was too good an opportunity to pass up. He won well.

What makes On The River unusual is that he kept improving long after most horses have plateaued. Bethell noted that when she first had him and he rattled off three wins, she feared he had peaked. Then he won four the following season. His rating climbed from 63 when she first won with him to 80 by the time he landed the Carlisle Bell — a well-known sprint prize — in June. Horses improving that significantly past the age of four is rare enough that Bethell draws comparisons to another of her horses, Yanifer, as if she's spotted a particular trick that others miss.

His most regular jockey is Cam Hardie, who has ridden him to 5 wins from 15 races together — winning roughly 1 in every 3 times they team up, which is an excellent partnership by any measure. The last six races have not produced a win, with finishes of 7-4-2-5-2-6 in reverse, but he has placed twice in that spell, and the team is clearly not panicking. Ayr or a Chester race are being considered as his next targets. For a horse who was not supposed to keep getting better, On The River has made a habit of proving people wrong.