Patrol

The most striking thing about Patrol is its relationship with Southwell. That track in Nottinghamshire has a synthetic, all-weather surface that suits certain horses almost uniquely, and Patrol is clearly one of them. Two wins from just four races there amounts to a 50% win rate at the venue — extraordinary when you consider the horse wins only 1 in 8 overall. Its career began at Southwell in December 2024, and it came back to win there again as recently as April 2025. When this horse goes back to that track, you sit up and take notice.

On normal ground conditions, Patrol has won 3 from 12 races — 25%, or 1 in every 4. That is a sharp improvement on its overall numbers and suggests the horse has real preferences about what it runs on. Get it on a surface it likes and the picture changes considerably. It also tends to perform best over longer distances — between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — where it has won 2 of its 9 races at that trip, again well above its career average.

The partnership with jockey Rhys Clutterbuck is worth flagging too. Together they have won 2 of their 5 races — 40% — which is a remarkable figure in a sport where even elite jockeys rarely win more than 1 in 5. Clearly, the two bring something out in each other. Trainer Dylan Cunha, based at Newmarket, has sent out 45 winners this season, so this is an active, functioning yard rather than a quiet stable just filling entries.

The last six races have brought no wins and a mixed bag of placings, with the two runner-up finishes the obvious bright spots. Patrol is not in the form of its life right now. But a horse that wins half its races at one specific track, that handles longer distances well, and that has a jockey it clicks with — this is a horse with very specific conditions under which it becomes genuinely competitive. Find the right race at Southwell and it will be interesting.