Ashdown Forest

The real story here is ground preference. On normal conditions, Ashdown Forest wins roughly 2 out of every 5 races. That is a startling rate for any horse, and it tells you the yard knows exactly what surface suits it best. Trained by Dan Skelton at his Alcester yard — one of the most successful operations in the country, with 198 winners this season alone — Ashdown Forest is clearly being aimed at conditions where it performs. The timing of the Stratford victory this week suggests the trainer has found those conditions again.

Where the horse struggles is in top-level Class 4 races: it has yet to win from five attempts at that grade, which suggests its future may lie at a slightly lower level where its ground preference and recent momentum can do the talking. But with two wins from its last six outings and fresh off a victory, Ashdown Forest is running with rhythm. It raced just yesterday and is clearly a busy competitor. The next move from Skelton will be instructive: stick with the ground it loves and the grade where it wins, and this horse could easily rattle off another victory or two before the season ends.