Dashing Dick

The ground is the key to understanding this horse. On slightly soft footing — when there's a bit of moisture in the turf — he transforms: two wins from just four attempts, meaning he's won half the time in those conditions. That's a remarkable contrast to his overall record and tells you exactly what his team are waiting for when they plot his entries. At a short, sharp distance of five to six-and-a-half furlongs, he's found the winner's enclosure three times from 22 races, a 14% win rate that quietly outperforms his career average.

His partnership with Kieran Shoemark is one of the more striking footnotes in his record. The jockey has ridden him nine times and won on three of those occasions — that's winning 1 in every 3 times they've teamed up, which is a phenomenal ratio given how infrequently this horse wins in general. When Shoemark is in the saddle and the ground is soft, you'd be paying close attention.

His last win came at Newmarket in November 2025 — nine months ago now — and his last six runs have produced a fifth, a sixth, a third, and three finishes further back, so the form has tailed off noticeably. He's been out just yesterday, which means he's fit and active, but the wins aren't coming. Stone's yard has sent out 10 winners this season and clearly knows how to get horses ready, so this isn't a horse being mismanaged — it's simply one who needs everything to align. At Class 4 level, where he spends most of his time, he's won 4 from 36 races, roughly 1 in 9. Perfectly respectable for the grade, even if the recent silence has stretched on.

His first win came at Leicester on April Fools' Day 2022, which feels fitting for a horse who keeps teasing you with potential and then making you wait.