Beelzebub

The dry spells are real, though. Beelzebub has not won since January 2024 at Newcastle — now 27 months ago — and the last six runs have produced two fourth-place finishes and nothing better. That recent sequence (4-4-blank-6-7-8) suggests a horse that is hovering at the edge of its best without quite finding it, racing at Class 5 level, which is the bread and butter of the racing calendar where the fields are competitive and margins are small. At that level, Beelzebub has won 2 from 14 races, or roughly 1 in every 7, which is actually a decent return — the problem is the winning has stopped.

Where Beelzebub genuinely comes alive is on normal ground. All three career wins have come in those conditions, from 15 races, giving a win rate of 20% — or 1 in every 5. That is a sharp and meaningful number. It tells you this is a horse with a preference rather than a weakness, and any trainer worth their salt will be watching the weather forecast closely before committing to a run.

David Loughnane's yard at Stoke Heath in Shropshire has been in fine form this season, sending out 38 winners, so the team around Beelzebub clearly knows what it is doing. When Daniel Muscutt climbs aboard, the numbers improve noticeably: two wins from seven races together is a 29% win rate, or nearly 1 in every 3 rides — a genuine partnership worth noting. Beelzebub raced just 15 days ago and remains active, which means another run is likely not far away. Whether the wins come again is another matter, but this is a horse that has not been retired to the easy life — and on the right ground, with Muscutt up, it would be unwise to ignore.