Call My Bluff

The trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis, based in Lambourn, believes strongly that Call My Bluff needs soft or wet ground to show his best. The yard saw this theory proved at Goodwood, where improved ground conditions helped the horse deliver—Ffrench Davis noted afterwards that Call My Bluff had shown he could stay two miles and genuinely preferred racing on a softer surface. The trainer has also been keen to run him in the Ascot Stakes, a race that he considers tailormade for the horse, though again only if the going description includes the word soft. Ffrench Davis has sent out twelve winners this season from the yard.

Where Call My Bluff stands out slightly is with jockey J F Egan, who has ridden him five times and won once—a 20 per cent win rate that is noticeably better than the horse's overall record. At the top level, in Class 2 races, Call My Bluff has yet to win, scoring zero from six attempts, which suggests his wins may be more likely to come at slightly lower grades. For a nine-year-old still searching for consistency, his best chance appears to come when both ground and occasion align, and when partnered with a jockey who understands him.