Cheerleader

Both wins came in a tight ten-day window in the spring of 2025. Cheerleader broke its duck at Redcar on 19 May, then backed it up with another victory at Catterick Bridge on 30 May. Back-to-back wins for any horse is worth noting, and for one that had presumably been knocking around without winning before that, it suggested something had clicked — whether that was fitness, confidence, or simply finding the right race at the right moment. At the level Cheerleader typically competes, those wins translate into a genuinely impressive 2 from 6 record, or 33%, which means it wins roughly 1 in every 3 races at that grade. That is a horse that belongs at that level and knows how to win there.

The concern is what has happened since. That Catterick win was 13 months ago, and recent form reads 4-9-8-2-7-1 from most recent back — meaning after a promising second place, Cheerleader drifted to eighth and ninth before a fourth last time out. The trend is not encouraging, though the fourth does at least hint at a horse that has not completely lost its way.

Trainer Tina Jackson has sent out 9 winners this season from an undisclosed yard, which tells you this is a small-to-medium operation rather than a powerhouse stable, but 9 winners is a meaningful tally — these are not flukes, and Jackson clearly knows how to get a horse ready to win. Whether she can find the right opportunity to get Cheerleader back to its best is the question worth watching. The horse is only 4, still relatively lightly raced, and with that spring purple patch on its record, there is reason to think another good day is possible rather than inevitable.