Spring Is Sprung

Paul Midgley trains him from Westow in North Yorkshire, and the yard is having a strong season — 39 winners already this term, which is the kind of output that tells you a stable knows what it is doing. The partnership with jockey Jason Hart has been particularly productive: three wins from just six rides together is a 50% win rate, which is remarkable by any measure. When those two combine, the horse clearly produces his best.

Southwell is where Spring Is Sprung feels most at home. He had his first career win there in January 2022 and returned to win there again as recently as January 2026, making it 2 wins from 7 races at the track. Two from seven might not sound like dominance, but course form is about more than the numbers — he consistently turns up for the track, and the team clearly targets it with purpose.

The most compelling chapter of his story came at Haydock, where he landed a £100,000 Sunday Series bonus. To earn it, the team had to win three competitive races, and crucially they held their nerve by deliberately skipping a run after wins at Newmarket and Chelmsford — protecting his racing mark even when fast ground conditions were available and tempting. Owner John Blackburn was quick to praise both trainer and jockey afterwards, noting that Hart felt there was plenty left in the tank at the finish. Midgley had simply got everything right.

He races over sprint distances — under five furlongs — where he has won 2 of his 6 races at that trip, a 33% win rate that is his best across any distance. He wants fast, dry ground to be at his very best. Raced just yesterday and still active, Spring Is Sprung is firmly in the thick of his season. For a seven-year-old who has already landed a six-figure bonus, there is clearly more to come.