Be An Angel

Rod Millman trains her out of his yard in Kentisbeare, Devon, and has had a productive season — 42 winners sent out already, which is a healthy return for a stable of his size. Millman has an interesting explanation for why Be An Angel spent much of her early life in tougher races than you might expect for a horse of her level. The Great British Bonus scheme offers a £20,000 prize for British-bred horses winning certain races as two-year-olds, which meant Millman kept her in those races longer than he otherwise would have — getting her fit and sharp early, hoping to land the bonus. The upside is a well-educated, race-hardened horse. The downside is that her official record from those early outings doesn't quite tell the full story of how competitive she was being asked to be.

The ground makes a significant difference to her. On fast, dry ground she has won 2 from 7 races — that's a 29% win rate, which is genuinely impressive and means she wins roughly 1 in every 3 races when conditions suit her. On other ground she has largely drawn a blank. Keep an eye on the weather before backing her.

Her most recent win came at Salisbury just this week — her second career victory, and the clearest sign yet that she is coming into a purple patch. Her last six runs read 10th, 11th, 7th, 5th, 1st, 2nd — a horse visibly finding her feet and building toward something. Lewis Edmunds has ridden her seven times without a win, so the switch to a different jockey for that Salisbury success may well be worth noting.

She mostly races at Class 5 level — the kind of races where she is competitive rather than outclassed — and has won 1 from 13 at that level, or about 1 in every 13 attempts. But with dry ground in the forecast and her form heading in the right direction, that number is starting to flatter the opposition rather than her.