Estacas

The key to Estacas is distance. Over longer trips — between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — he has won 2 of just 4 races, which is a remarkable 50% win rate at those distances. That tells you something important: when the yard pitch him at the right trip, he is genuinely competitive. He competes mainly at Class 4 level, the solid mid-tier of British racing, and has won 2 of his 8 races there — 1 in every 4, a respectable return at that grade.

His two career wins are separated by nearly 20 months. The first came at Ascot in October 2021 — a track that carries real prestige — and the second at Huntingdon in May 2023. That Huntingdon win is now 38 months in the past, and Estacas has not troubled the winner's enclosure in the six races since, with a recent run of two places mixed in among some well-beaten finishes. He ran just yesterday, so he is clearly still in active training and the yard has not given up on him.

That yard is the operation run by Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole out of Elmbridge in Worcestershire — a team that has sent out 49 winners already this season, so they clearly know how to find a race for the right horse. Brendan Powell rides Estacas most often, winning 1 of their 6 races together, roughly 1 in 6, which is a solid partnership at this level. Whether they can find the combination that brings him back to winning ways remains to be seen, but at the right distance on the right day, Estacas has shown he still knows how to finish in front.