Ventura Express

What makes him genuinely interesting is where he does it best. At Beverley, a tight, undulating track on the Yorkshire coast, he has won 2 of his 5 races — a 40% win rate at a single course. For context, most horses spend their entire careers without finding a track they truly click with. Beverley clearly suits him, and his trainer Paul Midgley knows exactly why: the horse wants a stiff five furlongs with the pace on from the front. Beverley's uphill finish and no-nonsense galloping style give him precisely that.

Midgley, based at Westow in North Yorkshire and having sent out 39 winners already this season, is refreshingly honest about the horse. He has described Ventura Express as one who pays his way and is worth his weight in gold — the kind of praise that means more from a trainer who does not deal in sentiment. He has also pointed to a gelding operation as the moment everything clicked, crediting that rather than any training genius on his part.

The most regular partnership is with jockey David Nolan, who has ridden him in 12 races and won on him twice — roughly 1 in 6 — which is a solid record for a horse of this profile. Ventura Express has not won in his last six races, and his most recent Beverley victory was 22 months ago. But he raced just yesterday and continues to compete consistently — his last six finishes read 4th, 5th, 3rd, 6th, 10th, 5th, which tells the story of a horse still in the mix rather than one fading away. The Beverley question is always worth asking with this one.