Pop Favorite

The overall numbers tell one story: 7 wins from 78 races works out at roughly 1 in every 11, a win rate of 9%. That is modest by most measures. But zoom in on Newcastle specifically and something clicks into place. Seven wins from 49 races at one track, all at Class 6 level — the bread-and-butter end of British racing, where horses compete week in, week out rather than chasing prestige — tells you exactly what kind of horse Pop Favorite is. Not a superstar, but a reliable, specialist performer who knows its patch. Think of it like a pub quiz regular who always wins at their local but struggles everywhere else. The home advantage is real.

Jockey Elisha Whittington has been the regular partner, riding Pop Favorite in 26 of those 78 races and picking up 3 of the 7 wins — a win rate of roughly 1 in every 9 rides together, or 12%. That is meaningfully better than the horse's overall average, which suggests the partnership works. Trainer Scott Dixon, based in Rolleston in Nottinghamshire, has been busy this season — his yard has sent out 35 winners, which is a healthy, productive operation rather than a boutique outfit running a handful of horses.

The one note of caution is recent form. Pop Favorite has not won in its last six races, finishing in the middle of the pack each time — positions of 5, 4, 4, 9, and 8 in the most recent run. Its last win came at Newcastle in April 2025, 13 months ago. That is a long gap. But crucially, the horse is still active and still turning up, and the record shows that when conditions are right at its favourite track, it has a habit of delivering. Seven wins from 49 races at Newcastle, starting from that first victory there back in October 2021, amounts to a kind of loyalty between a horse and a course that is genuinely unusual. Whether race number 79 brings win number 8, only Newcastle will know.