Up The Jazz

The overall numbers tell a similar story. From 34 races, Up The Jazz has won just 3 times — roughly 1 in every 11 races — though it has placed (finished in the top positions without winning) on another 15 occasions. That means it has given its supporters something to cheer about in over half its races, which is no small thing. It just has not quite crossed the line first often enough. Its first win came at Carlisle in August 2023, and the Wolverhampton win last winter represents the peak of what has been a modest but not entirely unrewarding career so far.

One of the more interesting wrinkles is how much the distance matters. Over a mile and one or two furlongs — roughly a mile and a bit — Up The Jazz has won 2 of its 11 races at that trip, which works out at 18%, or nearly 1 in every 5 races. That is a genuinely solid number compared to its overall record, and it suggests the horse is at its most dangerous when given that particular test. Trainers Richard and Peter Fahey, who run a busy and respected yard in North Yorkshire called Musley Bank, will know this better than anyone. Their operation has already sent out nine winners this season, so they are clearly in form — they just need Up The Jazz to rediscover its own.

The one relationship that raises an eyebrow is with jockey Oisin Orr, who has ridden the horse 12 times without a single win between them. Twelve rides is a meaningful sample — that is not bad luck, that is a pattern. Whether a change of jockey is what the team decides to try next is anyone's guess, but the recent form of 6-3-2-9-3-8 shows at least some consistency in placing. Up The Jazz is not disgracing itself. It just needs to find that finishing kick one more time.