Ticktyboo

That sole career win came at Chepstow back in August 2024, and while it has been 21 months since Ticktyboo last visited the winner's enclosure, the horse hasn't fallen off a cliff. The most recent run was only yesterday, and a third-place finish at Newcastle last week — despite ending up on the wrong side of the track in a bunched, tight finish — tells you there's still something there. The trainer is encouraged enough to keep the horse active and believes Newcastle is where the next win will come from, with Chepstow-style success well within reach again soon.

The regular partnership with jockey Rowan Scott is one of the more curious threads in this story. Ten races together and not a single win — a 0% win rate — which is the kind of record that would test any working relationship. That said, the horse has managed six places across its career, so it's finishing in the mix often enough to suggest the winning breakthrough with Scott is a matter of when rather than if.

Ticktyboo competes mainly at Class 5 level, which is the everyday, bread-and-butter end of British racing. At that level, a win rate of 14% — 1 win from 7 races — is actually respectable. Class 5 is competitive in its own way, full of horses at similar levels all chasing the same modest prizes, so landing 1 in every 7 at that grade is nothing to be embarrassed about. Recent form of 10th, 5th, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th shows a horse capable of running well but not quite threading the needle. With the trainer pointing squarely at Newcastle and the horse clearly still fit and active, there's every reason to think Ticktyboo's second win isn't far away.