Andesite

The numbers tell a story of untapped potential as much as modest returns. Andesite has won just 1 race from 12, which on paper looks unremarkable — that is roughly 1 in every 12 races. But context matters enormously here. That one win came at the highest level it has contested, and when operating at Class 2 it has won 1 from 5, roughly 1 in every 5 races, which is a very respectable ratio in elite company. Over its preferred trip of five to six and a half furlongs, it has won 1 from 8, around 1 in 8 attempts. The consistency of nearly placing — two placed efforts across its career alongside that win — suggests a horse that routinely mixes it with the best without always getting its nose in front.

The most recent six runs are harder to love: finishing 6th, 16th, 7th, 12th, 5th, and 3rd shows a horse that has not found the same spark since that York breakthrough 25 months ago. Whether that is a matter of form, conditions, or simply the natural competition at this level catching up is difficult to say.

What does add real intrigue is the voice of trainer Roger Fell, who called Andesite a "high-class horse" and talked with genuine excitement about targeting the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot — one of the most prestigious juvenile races in the calendar. Fell noted that the horse's half-sister Dramatised had won the Queen Mary at Ascot, suggesting the family knows how to perform on a big occasion. Fell's yard at Nawton in North Yorkshire has already sent out 23 winners this season, so this is a trainer in form. The question now is whether Andesite, who last raced just one day ago, has a day like York 2024 still left in it.