Sir Paul Ramsey

His two wins tell a tidy story. The first came at Hamilton Park on 12 July 2025, and the second followed at Haydock Park on 9 August 2025 — two wins in less than a month, both on normal ground, and both over a distance between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs. That middle-distance range, around 1m1f to 1m2f, is clearly where he finds his best form: 2 wins from 11 races at those trips, or roughly 1 in every 5 or 6 at his preferred distance. Compare that to zero wins from five races at Class 2 — some of the best races in Britain — and you get a clear picture of a horse who can win when conditions suit, but who finds the very top level one step too far for now.

His partnership with jockey Joe Fanning is worth noting. Fanning has been aboard for 8 of his 18 races and has ridden both his winners — that means when Fanning is in the saddle, Sir Paul Ramsey wins 1 in every 4 races, a markedly better return than his overall record suggests. That kind of bond between horse and rider is not something trainers ignore. His recent run of six races without a win, stretching back nine months to that Haydock success, will not be lost on the Johnston team either — but with both wins coming on normal ground and at specific distances, a return to those conditions could make him interesting again.