Tom Creen

That kind of attachment to one venue is genuinely unusual. Across 18 visits to Sedgefield, Tom Creen has won 5 times — that's better than 1 in every 4 races there, which is a remarkable return for a horse competing at his level. Trainer Sam England, whose yard in Guiseley has sent out 53 winners this season alone, puts it plainly: Tom Creen is a legend, but only at Sedgefield. The instruction from the team is essentially to stop pretending otherwise and just keep pointing him back there, possibly over three miles.

The other thing that makes Tom Creen interesting is how he performs on wet or muddy ground. In 9 races run in those conditions, he has won 4 times — nearly 1 in every 2 races, a win rate that most horses would be proud of across their entire career. Put him on wet ground at Sedgefield and you suddenly have something worth paying attention to.

His most regular partnership is with jockey Jonathan England, who has ridden him in 17 of his 31 races and won 3 of them — roughly 1 in every 6 rides together. Those wins all came at Sedgefield, naturally. His last win there was on Boxing Day 2024, and though he hasn't won in his last six races, he raced just yesterday, which tells you he's still very much in training and being kept active.

At 11, Tom Creen is deep into the later stage of a racehorse's career, and his trainer knows his mark — the weight he's been assigned to carry based on his record — is about as high as it's ever been, making it harder to win. But with wet ground, Sedgefield, and a bit of patience, this is a horse who has shown he can still do it. The script has already been written five times. It may yet be written again.