Back It Up

Back It Up is an eight-year-old with a tough record to turn around. The horse has raced four times without winning or finishing in the top three, and recent form suggests the struggle continues — four consecutive runs of fourth and fifth place finishes over the past month. With James Owen's Newmarket yard firing on all cylinders this season (205 winners already), there is at least experienced horsemanship in place. Back It Up raced just a day ago, so the team are clearly not giving up on finding the right opportunity. At this stage, the horse will need to find a race where the conditions and opposition align just right, because the current pattern shows a horse that is competitive enough to stay in the frame occasionally, but not yet at the level needed to win. There is still time for that to change.