Duke Of Oxford

What makes Duke Of Oxford particularly interesting is what he does over longer distances. When racing between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, he has won 6 of his 11 races — a success rate of 55%, more than half. That's the kind of number that tells you a horse has found its perfect conditions: enough time to settle, enough ground to get going, and the stamina to keep going when others are tying up. Over shorter trips, he's a different animal entirely.

His partnership with jockey Hector Crouch is one of the warmer stories in the stable. The two have raced together eight times and won five of them — that's nearly two wins from every three races as a pair — and Crouch clearly understands this horse well. After winning at Newcastle in January 2026, the jockey was candid about Duke Of Oxford's fragility, noting that Michael Bell has been careful to give him time between runs, and that the patient approach is paying off. His recent form of 1-1 from his last six meaningful outings, and a sixth and seventh before that, suggests a horse peaking at exactly the right moment.

Bell himself has been open about the plan: the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle is the target, a race in which Duke Of Oxford finished third last year. It is one of the most famous long-distance races in the north of England, run on the same track where he won in January. Bell described him as "fully entitled to be one of the market principals" if he arrives in his usual form — which, from a trainer not given to overstatement, amounts to a significant vote of confidence. The yard has sent out 44 winners this season, so this is no quiet backwater operation. Duke Of Oxford, apparently now the yard's "family pet," looks like a horse with one more big day left in him.