Play Pretend

The partnership with jockey Lee Edwards is the dominant thread of Play Pretend's career. Edwards has been aboard for 11 of the 12 races, and both wins have come with him in the saddle — winning roughly 1 in every 5 rides together (18%). That kind of consistency between horse and rider matters. When the same jockey knows a horse inside out, understands its quirks and how it travels through a race, small advantages tend to compound. It's a combination worth following.

Play Pretend's first win came at Market Rasen in June 2024, and the most recent at Worcester in July 2025. Worcester is a flat, turning track that suits certain types of horse — and clearly suits this one. That win came just under a year ago, which means Play Pretend is overdue a return to the winner's enclosure, though the recent form gives genuine reason for optimism. The last six runs read 5th, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st going backwards — in other words, a win followed by three placed efforts in a row. Play Pretend raced just yesterday, so this is a horse bang in the middle of a campaign and clearly in solid form.

Trainer Dave Roberts has sent out 6 winners this season from an undisclosed yard, so the operation is ticking over nicely. Play Pretend competes mainly at Class 4 level — the fourth tier of British racing, a competitive middle ground — and has won 1 from 5 at that level (20%), which is a perfectly decent return. The horse isn't being thrown into the deep end against the very best, but it's not taking an easy route either. At five years old, Play Pretend is still relatively young and has every reason to add to its tally before the season is out.