Cruz Control
Cruz Control is a horse that has learned to embrace the big occasion. The nine-year-old won a Class 1 race at Aintree just over a year ago, but had since drifted into frustration—finishing outside the top three in four of his last six runs. Then, in April 2025, trainer
Tom Lacey turned it around completely. After a period of rehab that included trips to the beach and schooling over Aintree's fences at Lambourn, Cruz Control returned to the course itself and won, jumping economically and effectively through the home straight. Lacey was candid about the turnaround: the horse had "completely lost his way," but patience and variety—mixing up his work routine, giving him days away from the yard—brought him back to his best. It was the sort of win that vindicated a trainer's belief in a horse that had started to look like he might never recapture his form.
Based on TrackLab's analysis
📊 Key numbers
Career totals for this horse
🔍 Full analysis
Our model's view, based on this horse's career and recent runs
What makes Cruz Control genuinely interesting is not just that he can win at the top level, but where and how he does it. He has won three of his five races at Newcastle, a remarkable win rate that suggests something about the way the track suits him—his long, angular stride covering ground in a way that works for him there. With jockey Stan Sheppard, who has ridden him in all seven of his wins, they have built a winning partnership: 7 wins from 21 races together, a 33% win rate. At the top level, he is less consistent—2 wins from 7 Class 1 races—but the April victory at Aintree proved he belongs in that company. Over a 24-race career, Cruz Control has won 7 and finished in the top three 11 more times, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 3.4 races. For a nine-year-old still active and apparently rejuvenated, that is respectable form. Lacey's team, based at Woolhope in Herefordshire, has sent out 37 winners this season, a sign of a yard in good health with the tools to keep horses like this competitive.
⚡ Strengths and risks
What helps this horse and what to watch out for
✓ What works in their favour
✔ Course specialist at Newcastle: 3 wins from 5 starts (60%)
🎯 Where this horse runs best
Results split by ground, distance, race level and track shape
🌧 Ground
Good (a little give)
Likes
Good to soft (some give)
Ok
📏 Race distance
Long Distance (2M+)
Likes
🏅 Race level
Class 2 (high-level)
Unknown
Class 3 (mid-level)
Likes
Class 5 (entry-level)
Unknown
🏟 Track shape
Left-handed, long straights
Likes
Left-handed, tight turns
Unknown
Right-handed, hilly
Unknown
Right-handed, long straights
Avoids
📅 Recent runs
The last 10 races, most recent first
14 Oct
DNF
Ffos Las
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 9 runners
23 May
5th
Bangor-on-Dee
Long Distance (2m+) · Good · 7 runners
11 Apr
5th
Aintree
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 18 runners
12 Dec
DNF
Cheltenham
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 9 runners
29 Nov
6th
Newcastle
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 8 runners
5 Apr
🏆 Won
Aintree
Long Distance (2m+) · Good · 16 runners
26 Dec
DNF
Wetherby
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 8 runners
27 Oct
7th
Aintree
Long Distance (2m+) · Good · 9 runners
4 May
4th
Punchestown
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 16 runners
13 Apr
🏆 Won
Aintree
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 13 runners
🏇 Jockeys
Every jockey who has ridden this horse, most rides first
🏟 Course record
Win rate at each course this horse has visited
| Course | Races | Results | Last run | Win rate |
|---|
| Newcastle Galloping |
5 |
3 wins, 2 other |
29 Nov |
60% |
| Aintree Galloping |
5 |
2 wins, 3 other |
11 Apr |
40% |
| Wetherby Galloping |
2 |
1 win, 1 other |
26 Dec |
50% |
| Doncaster Galloping |
2 |
2 seconds |
10 Jan |
0% |
| Ffos Las Galloping |
2 |
1 second, 1 other |
14 Oct |
0% |
| Cheltenham Galloping |
2 |
2 other |
12 Dec |
0% |
| Exeter Undulating |
1 |
1 win |
11 Jan |
100% |
| Bangor-on-Dee Sharp |
1 |
1 other |
23 May |
0% |
| Chepstow Galloping |
1 |
1 second |
4 Dec |
0% |
| Ascot Galloping |
1 |
1 other |
4 Nov |
0% |
| Huntingdon Galloping |
1 |
1 other |
16 Apr |
0% |
| Punchestown Galloping |
1 |
1 other |
4 May |
0% |