Erne River

Two of those three career wins have come at Doncaster — 2 from 11 races there — and that is not a coincidence. Some horses simply click with a particular track, whether it's the shape of the bends, the camber of the ground, or something harder to pin down. Erne River opened its account at Doncaster in January 2022 and came back to win there again on 29 December 2023. That's a horse that knows its way around South Yorkshire. The bad news is that last win was now 29 months ago, and the last 6 races have produced nothing better than a fourth place.

Nick Kent, who trains from a small yard in Brigg, Lincolnshire, has sent out just 1 winner this season — so this isn't a factory churning out winners every weekend. That makes the results here feel hard-earned rather than routine. Charlie Hammond has been the regular jockey for most of Erne River's career, riding in 18 of those 27 races and picking up all 3 wins — a win rate of 17% together, which is roughly 1 win in every 6 rides. When horse and jockey click, they clearly click.

One more thing worth noting: Erne River has been running almost exclusively in Class 1 races — the very top level of the sport — and has gone 0 from 9 at that grade. That is a tough ask for any horse, let alone one from a smaller stable. It also races particularly well on slightly soft ground, winning 2 of its 12 races in those conditions, which is again that 1-in-6 ratio. With Doncaster on the calendar and the right ground underfoot, there's still a version of events where Erne River surprises people. It raced just yesterday, so whatever comes next, this old campaigner is still very much in the game.