Woodstock

Ruth Carr trains Woodstock from her yard in Stillington, North Yorkshire, and it has been a productive season for the stable — 63 winners sent out already, which marks this as a yard that knows how to get horses ready to win. Carr described Woodstock as a likeable, straightforward sort, and suggested there was more to come from him when he joined the yard. He had previously been with Jack Channon, ran well first time out for Carr at Newcastle, then won over seven furlongs at Wolverhampton. The hope was that turf racing in decent conditions would unlock another level — and the Newbury results suggest she was right.

Jockey Joanna Mason has been in the saddle for 14 of Woodstock's 33 races, and they have won twice together — roughly 1 in every 7 rides. That is a solid partnership by most measures. Across his whole career, Woodstock has won 5 from 33 races, which works out at roughly 1 in every 6 — a respectable record at the Class 4 level where he competes most often. The distance that suits him best is between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs, where he has won 2 from 5 races — that is 40%, which is a genuinely high hit rate and suggests the step up in trip brings out the best in him.

The recent form reads 3-7-6-2-3-8 — no wins in his last six races, but a second and a third in there show he has been competitive rather than struggling. He raced just yesterday, so he is very much in the thick of things. On normal ground he wins 2 from every 8 races he runs, and given that Carr said she would head to turf when decent ground arrived, the summer months on grass could be when Woodstock makes his move — particularly if Newbury comes up on the agenda.