Envious Editor

The level Envious Editor operates at is worth understanding. Class 5 is towards the lower end of the racing ladder in Britain, and that is where this horse has done its best work — winning 2 from 7 races at that level, a rate of roughly 1 in 3.5, which is actually pretty good for a horse at any tier. The first win came at Cartmel in May 2022, and the most recent at Stratford-on-Avon in May 2024. Cartmel and Stratford are both small, characterful tracks with tight turns and a festival-day feel — exactly the kind of courses where a canny, experienced older horse can find an edge.

The concern going into any next run is obvious, though. Envious Editor has not won in its last 6 races, and the recent form figures — 5-4-3-3-3-5, reading from most recent back — tell a consistent story of finishing in the mix without quite getting there. Those third-place finishes are respectable, but at some point third place stops being promising and starts being a habit. The horse is also returning from a break of around 11 months, which is a long time off the track. Horses can come back sharper after a rest, or they can come back rusty — at age 11, there is no guarantee which way it will go.

The partnership with jockey Robert Dunne has not clicked yet either. Six races together and no wins between them is the kind of statistic that would make you wonder whether a change of rider might unlock something. That said, Envious Editor has only won 3 races in its entire career, so Dunne is hardly uniquely unlucky — the winners have simply been rare for this horse regardless of who is in the saddle.

At 11, with a long break behind it and a recent run of near-misses, Envious Editor is at a crossroads. A horse that finds its way back to the winner's enclosure now would be a genuinely lovely story. Whether there is one more win in there is the question.