The Cookstown Cafu

What makes him worth paying attention to is where and how he does his best work. Over distances of a mile and an eighth to a mile and a quarter, he has won 4 of 13 races — nearly 1 in every 3, which is a dramatically better return than his overall record suggests. That tells you he has a specific gear: he needs a bit of room to stretch, and when he gets it at the right trip, he is a genuine handful. Pontefract is practically his home track; he has won 2 of only 3 races there, a record that would make most horses significantly shorter in the betting.

Trainer Fionn McSharry had him wind-operated before the 2023 season and said at the time that the family he comes from tend to improve with age — a remark that looks rather well-timed given that the horse is now seven and just posted a win this week. McSharry's yard has sent out 7 winners this season, so this is not a quiet backwater operation struggling for form. His regular partner in the saddle is Rowan Scott, who has ridden him to 2 wins from 9 attempts together — winning roughly 1 in every 4 or 5 rides, which is a healthy relationship by any measure.

His recent run of form before this week's win had been patchy — a string of mid-field finishes suggested he had gone a little flat — which makes the Newcastle victory feel all the more timely. A horse who has run 39 times, survived a wind operation, and is still winning races at seven is not a flashy prospect; he is something better than that. He is reliable, specific about what he needs, and apparently still improving. That is a rare thing.