Apollo One

Both victories have come at a high level. The first arrived at Kempton Park in November 2022, a Class 2 race on the all-weather surface. The second, and more striking, came at Ascot in October 2024 — a Class 1 race, which puts it among the top tier of races run in Britain. Winning at that level, on one of the most prestigious tracks in the country, is not something the majority of racehorses ever manage. For a horse who wins so rarely, to do it on the biggest stage is genuinely unusual.

That Ascot win is now 21 months ago, and Apollo One has not visited the winner's enclosure since. The last six runs read 14-9-3-9-8-14 — a string of mid-field and backmarker finishes that suggests the horse is finding life tough right now. A yard that has sent out just two winners this season is not currently in its richest vein of form either, so the environment around the horse is not exactly firing. Regular jockey Richard Kingscote has partnered Apollo One 11 times for that one win together, winning roughly 1 in every 11 rides — a modest return that mirrors the horse's overall record.

Apollo One spends most of its time in Class 2 company, which is a high-quality bracket, and has won just 1 of 20 races at that level — 5% of the time. That might sound thin, but it also means the yard has consistently believed this horse belongs in strong fields, and the Ascot victory proved they were right to think so. It raced just yesterday, so it is very much still active. Whether a second big-day moment is still in the locker is the open question — but Apollo One has already answered it once, and at the right track on the right day, that counts for something.