Benacre

The really interesting number is what happens when Benacre is kept to its preferred trip. Over seven furlongs to a mile, the record reads 6 wins from 32 races, a win rate of 19% — nearly 1 in 5. That is a meaningful jump, and it tells you the team at Middleham Moor know exactly where this horse is at its best. Push it beyond a mile and that sharpness disappears.

Benacre also has a curious affinity with Epsom Downs — the famous Surrey track that hosts the Derby and is one of the most unusual courses in Britain, with its sharp bends and significant downhill stretches. Two wins from just three races there is a remarkable record for any horse, and it suggests Benacre has a genuine knack for handling a course that catches plenty of rivals out. The first of those wins came on 30 June 2022, where it all started.

At Class 4 level — the sort of races that form the backbone of the British racing calendar, neither the very top nor the bottom — Benacre has won 6 from 21, a win rate of 29%, or almost 1 in every 3 races. That is a horse operating comfortably within its right bracket. Regular partner Joe Fanning has ridden in 11 of those races together, winning once, so the combination has not always clicked — but the horse's most recent victory came at Newcastle on 6 February 2026, four months ago, showing there is still life in the partnership.

Benacre has not won in its last six races, and recent form — finishing eleventh and then a pair of fifths — suggests it may be searching for its best again. But Charlie Johnston's yard has sent out 128 winners this season, so the firepower is clearly there. A horse that wins almost 1 in 3 races at its preferred level, over its preferred distance, at a track it loves, is the kind that patient observers keep an eye on.