Fair Dinkum

The most striking thing about Fair Dinkum is the gap between the company it usually keeps and the company it has been beating lately. In 18 races at Class 5, the level that represents everyday, bread-and-butter competition, it has not won once. Zero from eighteen. Yet step it up into a top race and something clicks — it has won 2 of its last 6 outings, including a Class 2 race at Bath in September 2025, which is one of the better prizes available in British racing. Winning at that level while drawing a blank at a lower tier is genuinely unusual, and it says this horse performs best when the occasion demands something extra.

There is also a clear course preference worth noting. At Lingfield Park, Fair Dinkum has won 2 of its 5 races there — that is a 40% win rate at one track, compared to a career average of 14%. Lingfield has a distinctive all-weather surface that suits certain horses down to the ground, and Fair Dinkum appears to be one of them. It was also where the horse recorded its very first career win back in November 2023, so there is a longstanding affinity with the place. On normal ground conditions generally, it wins 2 from 6, or 33% — again well above its overall average.

Behind the scenes, the horse is trained by Jeremy Scott, whose small yard in Brompton Regis, Somerset, has sent out 24 winners this season. That is a productive tally for a relatively compact operation, and it tells you Jeremy Scott knows how to place his horses — which makes Fair Dinkum's step up in class feel like a considered call rather than a punt.

The one question mark is timing. Fair Dinkum last raced 116 days ago, returning from a break of around three months. Its recent form reads 1-1-2 in three of its last four completed runs, which is strong, but those races are now behind it. Whether it returns to that kind of sharpness after this layoff is the thing worth watching when it next walks into the parade ring.