Benacre

The six-year-old is trained by Charlie Johnston at Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, part of one of the most productive yards in the country right now — Johnston's team has sent out 131 winners already this season, which is a remarkable output by any measure. Benacre is one of 6 wins contributing to that total, though the horse's most recent victory came back in February 2026 at Newcastle, now five months ago.

Across 50 races in total, Benacre has won 6 times and finished in the places on another 18 occasions — so it has gone home with something to show for itself in nearly half its races (24 from 50). A win rate of 12%, or roughly 1 in every 8 races, is modest, but the picture sharpens considerably when you look at where Benacre is pitched. At Class 4 level — the bread-and-butter tier of the sport, a few rungs below the big prestige races — the record reads 6 wins from 21 races, a win rate of 29%, or better than 1 in every 3. That is a horse who knows its level and performs well when it finds the right company.

Joe Fanning, who rides Benacre most often, has partnered the horse in 11 of those 50 races for 1 win together — a 9% win rate, or roughly 1 in 11. That is below the horse's overall average, which suggests the partnership has not quite brought out the best in either party, though Fanning is an experienced and well-travelled jockey by any measure.

The last 6 runs — finishing positions of 3rd, 5th, 5th, 11th, 5th, and 4th reading from most recent — tell the story of a horse that keeps knocking on the door without quite opening it. It raced just yesterday and is clearly in good health and active training. Whether another win is close probably depends on whether Benacre ends up back at Epsom Downs anytime soon.