Awaythelad

The horse shows a clear preference for wet ground, where he has won 2 of his 8 races, a 25 per cent win rate that stands well above his overall average. This is a telling statistic: given how rare it is for Awaythelad to win at all, his edge on muddy or sodden going matters. He typically races at Class 4 level, where he has won twice from sixteen attempts. His recent form has been patchy — a fourth place and a seventh in his last six outings — and after seventy-four days away from the track, he appears ready for a fresh run.

Ben Pauling's Naunton yard, which has sent out eighty-six winners this season alone, will be hoping to get Awaythelad back among the placings at least. The horse's regular rider, Ben Jones, has partnered him once for a win from seven races together, a connection that shows decent promise without being a guarantee of anything special. At nine years old and with his recent form moderate, Awaythelad is a horse best suited to a Class 4 race on soft or wet ground, where his record suggests he belongs. These are not the sort of statistics that excite headlines, but they are the quiet strengths that keep a horse racing competitively into his tenth year.