Patrol

Southwell is Patrol's happy place. The horse has won twice from just four races there—a win rate of 50 percent—which is remarkable consistency at a single track. The last of those victories came on 6 April 2025, and while that was seventeen months ago now, it proves Patrol knows how to get the job done on that track's specific surface and layout. That kind of course affinity matters. Some horses simply suit certain places, and Patrol's record suggests Southwell plays to its strengths.

The partnership with jockey Rhys Clutterbuck is equally telling. Together they have won two races from five, a 40 percent win rate that stands well above Patrol's overall average. When the right rider gets the leg up, this horse performs noticeably better. Patrol also shows a clear preference for normal ground conditions, winning three times from twelve races on standard surfaces—a 25 percent win rate—compared to its poor results on extremes. It stays well too, performing best over the longer trips between one mile six furlongs and two miles.

The question now is simply one of timing. Patrol has not won in its last six races, though the recent form—three placings in that sequence—shows it is competitive and regularly finishing in the first few. Racing just yesterday (two or three, two, six, three, four, two in the last six runs) suggests the horse is being given plenty of opportunities. Dylan Cunha's Newmarket yard has had a strong season, sending out 45 winners already, and that suggests Patrol is part of a stable firing on all cylinders. A return to Southwell on normal ground with Clutterbuck in the saddle would be a recipe worth watching.