Rumstar

The career record reads six wins and ten places from 28 races — a win rate of roughly 1 in every 5 outings, which for a horse competing almost exclusively at the highest level is genuinely impressive. Class 1 racing is where reputations are made and good horses get found out. Rumstar has won four of his 16 races at that level, a rate of 1 in every 4, which tells you this horse does not just turn up — he competes. His most recent victory came at Sandown Park on 5 July 2025, where jockey Rob Hornby, who knows this horse as well as anyone, threaded a gap late on to get his head in front. Trainer Jonathan Portman admitted afterwards it was a risky tactical call — Sandown's layout does not always reward that kind of patience — but it paid off perfectly.

Hornby and Rumstar have built something of a partnership. In 15 races together, he has ridden the horse to four wins — winning roughly 1 in every 4 — and Portman is clearly keen to keep that combination together. The trainer, based at Upper Lambourn and in fine form with 46 winners already this season, has spoken warmly about how well Rumstar is moving into the second half of 2025. He noted after the Newmarket win in May that the horse looks physically stronger than in previous years, which is an encouraging sign for a sprinter heading into the big summer festivals.

What comes next is genuinely exciting. Portman has hinted that the Nunthorpe Stakes at York — one of the most famous sprint races in the calendar — could be on the agenda, describing it as something of a leap of faith. The Prix de l'Abbaye in France remains an option too. For a horse who started his career winning at Bath in May 2022 and has since collected top-level prizes at Newmarket, Ascot, and Sandown, neither target looks fanciful. Rumstar is not just a good horse. He is a horse right in the middle of his story.