Devil's Brigade

Ed Dunlop's Newmarket yard, which has already sent out 39 winners this season, appears to have found Devil's Brigade's sweet spot. Over distances between 1 mile 1 furlong and 1 mile 2 furlongs, the horse has won 1 of 3 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in 3 — a meaningful improvement on his overall figures. That concentration of form over specific ground and distance suggests the trainer knows what suits this horse and is aiming accordingly. The recent second-place finish came straight after his Pontefract victory, which is typical of trainers pushing a young horse while it has momentum and while the confidence is there.

At three years old, Devil's Brigade is still very much in development. His record — one win, four places from five starts — reads like a horse that consistently runs well but hasn't yet pieced together the consistency needed to win regularly. The fact that his best results come at a specific distance range gives the yard something concrete to work with going forward. If Dunlop can keep him in those mile-plus races and find the right races at the right tracks, there is every reason to think the win-rate will improve.