Personal Best

That debut win set the tone for what Personal Best has become: a reliable, if not spectacular, competitor at a solid level of racing. With 2 wins and 5 places from 10 races, the horse has finished in the top three roughly 7 times in every 10 outings — a consistency that tells you this is a horse that tries hard and rarely has a completely empty day. The second win came at Ffos Las in June 2025, and the current form figures — 4-2-2-4-5-1, reading from most recent back — suggest a horse that has been knocking on the door regularly.

The partnership with jockey Rob Hornby has been the constant throughout. Hornby has been aboard for 9 of the 10 races, winning 2 of them — roughly 1 in every 4.5 rides together, which is a healthy return and suggests the pair have developed a real understanding. At Class 4 level — a comfortable middle tier of British racing — Personal Best has been particularly effective, winning 2 of 5 races at that grade, a 40% win rate that marks this out as a horse that performs when the competition suits.

Portman, based at Upper Lambourn, has had a productive season with 46 winners from the yard, and he clearly has a soft spot for this one. He's described Personal Best as a "lovely staying type" — meaning a horse that gets better the longer the race — and has indicated the horse is at its best when the ground has some give in it. A run at Sandown disappointed slightly, but Portman was sanguine about it, suggesting the fast conditions there weren't ideal. With the horse having raced just yesterday and still active, there's evidently more to come, and the yard will be hoping for some autumn rain to bring out the best in a horse that genuinely seems to enjoy a test.