Apollo One

That Ascot win came in October 2024, and it sits alongside a Class 2 victory at Kempton Park back in November 2022, which was also his first career win. Two wins, both in quality races — so while the numbers look thin on the surface, this is not a horse scraping around at the lower end of the sport. He belongs at a high level and has occasionally proved it. The gap between those moments is the story, though. He has not won in his last six races, and his most recent form reads 3-9-8-14-4-2 — a mixed picture that includes some near-misses alongside some well-beaten efforts.

He races most often at Class 2, which is where the bulk of his career has played out — 20 races at that level and just one win from them, a 5% conversion rate. His most regular jockey is Richard Kingscote, who has ridden him 11 times for a single win together. That works out to winning roughly one in every 11 rides — not a fruitful combination statistically, but they have had their moment.

Apollo One is trained at Newmarket by the yard of P Charalambous and J Clutterbuck, who have sent out two winners this season. He raced just one day ago, so he is firmly in the thick of things. At eight years old, some horses begin to fade from the picture, but Apollo One keeps turning up in competitive races — and given that he managed a top-level win as recently as 19 months ago, it would be unwise to write him off entirely. Most horses never win a Class 1 race. He has. On the right day, against the right field, that can happen again.