Dogged

Those four wins have come at a modest level, and the record in the types of races Dogged most often enters makes for uncomfortable reading: 0 wins from 19 attempts in Class 5 company, which is near the bottom of the racing ladder. Sixteen places from 43 races suggests a horse that competes honestly and finishes in the frame with reasonable consistency, but converting those efforts into victories has proven elusive. The last six runs have produced finishes of 7th, 4th, 5th, 8th, 12th, and 9th — a horse finding its way into the minor positions but not quite getting there.

The one genuine bright spot in Dogged's profile is Ripon, a tight, sharp track in North Yorkshire that clearly suits it. Two wins from just 4 races there is a remarkable return — that's a 50% win rate at a course where most horses are doing well to win once in six attempts. The first win came there in April 2023, followed by another in August 2023, meaning Ripon is not just a happy accident but something of a genuine home. The catch is that those wins are now 34 months in the past, and a return to form at the track it loves most would be a welcome sight.

Dogged is trained by Tony Carroll at his Cropthorne yard in Worcestershire, an operation that has sent out 136 winners this season alone — a high-volume, highly productive stable that knows how to place a horse to its best advantage. The most regular jockey partnership is with Mr Philip Thomas, who has ridden Dogged in 6 races together and won once, a win rate of around 1 in 6. That is actually a better ratio than the overall career record, which suggests the partnership is a productive one when things click. With a race as recently as yesterday, Dogged is still very much part of the picture — a seasoned, durable horse that on its day, and particularly at Ripon, has shown it can win.