Reel Orange

The recent form tells an interesting story too. After a couple of forgettable runs — finishing 9th and 11th — Reel Orange has come back sharply, going 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st across its last four races. That kind of turnaround doesn't happen by accident. It suggests the horse is in the form of its life right now, and that whoever picked Newton Abbot as the venue twice in recent weeks made a very good call. The most recent win came just this week, on 13 May 2026, which means this is a horse that is live and firing at this very moment.

One puzzle worth noting: regular jockey James Davies has ridden Reel Orange six times and hasn't yet been aboard for a win. That's not necessarily a knock on Davies — plenty of factors go into a result — but it does stand out when you compare those 0 wins from 6 rides to the horse's overall record of 2 from 13. Both of those wins have come with someone else in the saddle.

Joe Tizzard's yard has had a productive season, sending out 58 winners, so Reel Orange is part of a team that clearly knows how to get a horse ready to win. The bigger picture, though, is that this horse has largely competed at the lower end of the sport and has found winning tough at that level — no wins from 5 races in Class 5 company, which are the most accessible races on the calendar. The Newton Abbot performances are the exception that proves the rule: at that track, on that ground, something about the place simply suits Reel Orange in a way that nowhere else has managed to replicate. For any casual fan wanting a reason to watch, that's exactly the kind of quirky, specific story that makes racing worth following.