Royal Way

Three races at Ludlow. Three wins. That's a perfect record at the track, with the most recent coming just seven weeks ago in March 2026. To put that in perspective, most horses go their whole careers without ever mastering a single track like that. There's something about the place — the shape of the course, the distances, the ground — that simply suits Royal Way down to the ground, often literally, since he's also a different beast in wet or muddy conditions. On soft ground he's won 2 from 4 races, a 50% win rate that's well above his already solid overall average of 4 wins from 18 races — roughly 1 in every 4 or 5 outings.

His finest hour away from Ludlow came at Ascot in March 2024, where he won a Class 2 race — one of the top tier of races in Britain. Owner Keith Loads called it "a consolation" for the Triumph Hurdle dream, which gives you a sense of the level this horse was bought to compete at. He hasn't quite reached those heights consistently, but 4 wins and 12 places from 18 races is the profile of a horse that almost always gives you something. He's been placed a remarkable 16 times in total — out of the money just twice.

His partnership with jockey Niall Houlihan is worth watching closely. Together they've won 3 of their 7 races — that's 43%, or nearly 1 in every 2 times they've been paired. That's a remarkable number at any level of the sport. Trainer Gary Moore and son Josh, who send horses out from their yard in West Sussex, have had 99 winners this season alone, so Royal Way sits within a yard operating in seriously good form.

Still only six and racing just yesterday, this is very much a horse in the thick of things. There are suggestions he could eventually try his luck over fences or even on the Flat. Whatever comes next, that record at Ludlow — three from three — remains the most compelling chapter in the story so far.