Commanche Falls

The peak came in a purple patch during the summer and autumn of 2023. Wins at Newbury and York in Class 1 races — the very highest grade British racing offers — marked Commanche Falls out as a horse capable of beating the best. Those are not flukes. You do not win twice at that level without real quality. The first career win had come a year earlier at Goodwood in a strong Class 2 race, and it was Goodwood again that set the tone: a beautiful, undulating track on the South Downs that rewards horses with a certain style and courage.

The partnership with jockey Connor Beasley has been the constant throughout. Beasley has been in the saddle for 34 of its 40 races, and all four wins have come with him aboard — winning 4 from those 34 rides together, or roughly 1 in every 8 or 9 races. That kind of loyalty between horse and rider matters. They know each other.

Trainer Michael Dods runs a busy and productive yard up in Piercebridge, County Durham — 43 winners sent out this season alone — and Commanche Falls remains part of that string at nine years old. But the recent form makes for difficult reading: finishes of 7, 9, 12, 9, 2, and 7 across the last six races, with that solitary second place the only glimmer. The last win came 35 months ago at York. The horse raced just yesterday, which shows the team have not given up.

Whether another moment like September 2023 is coming is the open question. At nine, with a Class 1 win already on its record, Commanche Falls has earned its reputation. What it needs now is to rediscover the form that once made it one of the best sprinters in Britain.