Bearwith

What makes Bearwith genuinely likeable is his consistency across years. Harriet Bethell has described him as "a great old stick" who has won for the yard every single season she has had him, which is the equine equivalent of a senior employee who never misses a shift. He did have some wind issues this past season that seemed to make him a little cagey — horses, like people, can become careful once something bothers them — but he still found a way to win at Doncaster in June 2025. His last victory came at Newcastle on 14 February 2026, around four months ago, and he has not won in his last six races since, though he has placed four times in that run, which suggests he is competitive rather than struggling.

His conditions are specific and worth noting. On normal ground he wins 4 from 12 races — that is a 33% win rate, meaning he wins roughly 1 in every 3 on a good surface, which is genuinely impressive for a horse at his level. At Redcar in particular he has won 2 from just 5 visits, making him a proper course specialist there. Bethell has also noted he is probably better on the all-weather tracks, the artificial surfaces used in British racing year-round, and his record supports that view. Most of his racing comes at Class 5, which sits near the bottom of the six-tier prize-money structure — he wins about 1 in every 8 at that level, or 3 from 24 races, which sounds modest until you remember that every horse in those fields is trying just as hard.

His regular jockey is Cam Hardie, who has partnered him 17 times and won 4 of them — a win rate of 24%, or almost 1 in 4. That is a partnership built on familiarity, and Bethell clearly trusts it. After a particularly tough performance at Ripon, she praised his courage from a difficult draw, calling him "really gutsy." That says something. At eight years old, still racing, still placing, still occasionally winning — Bearwith is the horse you quietly root for.