The Short Go

The career record reads two wins and eight places from 19 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 9 races (11%). That is modest on paper, but the story gets more interesting when you look at who has been in the saddle for the best of it. Rachael Blackmore has ridden The Short Go in 10 of those races and won 2 of them — a win rate of 1 in 5, or 20%. That is a meaningful number, and it suggests a partnership that brings out something in the horse. De Bromhead's post-race comments after the Clonmel win in September 2023 help explain why: Blackmore kept the horse covered up, patient, tucked away from trouble. The Short Go was keen early, jumped sloppily at first, but once the race kicked into a higher gear, it switched on. De Bromhead admitted he wasn't certain the horse would last the trip — so to see it deliver under those conditions was a genuine surprise, and a pleasant one.

The last six races tell a sobering story: a blank, then a fourth, a third, and back-to-back eleventh-place finishes. The most recent result, a seventh, came just one day ago. Against the very best company — Class 1 races, the top tier of British racing — The Short Go has never won, going 0 from 3. That is a ceiling the horse has not yet managed to break through.

And yet De Bromhead is not giving up on the idea. Speaking at a stable tour in November 2025, he pointed to a fourth-place finish at Cheltenham over just over three miles as evidence the horse still belongs at that level. He is talking about a return to the Cheltenham Festival — specifically the Ultima, one of the most competitive staying chases of the whole season. That is an ambitious target for a horse who has not won in nearly three years. But De Bromhead's yard has sent out 107 winners this season alone, so when he says a horse is ready for a big occasion, it is worth taking seriously. Whether The Short Go can finally deliver when it matters most is the question that makes watching it worth your time.