Dinons

The highlight of that career came on 28 July 2024 at Uttoxeter, where Dinons won a Class 2 race — one of the top tiers of racing in Britain. That is the kind of result that defines what a horse is capable of, and it stands as the peak of everything Dinons has achieved. It also remains the last win to date, now 24 months ago, so the question hanging over recent runs is whether that Uttoxeter performance was a late-career peak or whether there's another one in the locker.

The numbers suggest Hexham is where Dinons is most at home. Two wins from 6 races there — winning 1 in every 3 — is a genuinely impressive record at a single track. For context, most horses are lucky to win 1 in 7 at any given course, so doubling that at Hexham tells you this is a horse that travels well to the North East and clearly finds something there. It's also where the career started, with that first win in June 2022, so there's a long relationship with the place. Normal ground conditions suit best too: all 3 career wins have come when conditions are standard underfoot, and on good ground specifically the record reads 3 wins from 11 races, or just over 1 in 4.

In the saddle, Craig Nichol has been the regular partner, and the pair have a decent record together — 2 wins from 9 races, which works out at roughly 1 in 4. That's a meaningful connection. Behind the scenes, trainer Brian Ellison's yard at Norton in North Yorkshire has been in fine form this season, sending out 43 winners — a squad clearly firing on all cylinders. Dinons raced just yesterday, so this is very much a horse still in the thick of things at an age when most are long retired. Whether another win comes or not, the sheer longevity here is worth appreciating.