Feel The Need

Trained by Michael Herrington out of Willoughton in Lincolnshire, Feel The Need operates mainly at Class 4 level — the solid, competitive middle ground of British racing — and has won 4 of his 34 races at that grade, or roughly 1 in every 8. It is a perfectly respectable record for a horse of his type, and Herrington's yard has sent out 33 winners already this season, so the operation clearly knows what it is doing.

The most interesting thing about Feel The Need is his relationship with York racecourse. His last win came there on 13 June 2025, and jockey Andrea Pinna was full of enthusiasm afterwards. Pinna described taking a deliberate tactical lead when he spotted the favourite looming on his outside, then watching Feel The Need grind his rivals down. "He loves this track," Pinna said, adding that the horse keeps improving with age. That kind of comment from a jockey is not throwaway flattery — it tells you the horse has a character, a way of racing, and a venue where everything clicks.

His best distance is 1 mile 1 furlong to 1 mile 2 furlongs, where he has won 1 from 6 races — a win rate of 17%, or roughly 1 in every 6. That might sound like a small sample, but it is noticeably better than his overall figures and confirms he has a sweet spot worth targeting. Regular partner Tom Eaves has ridden him 12 times for 1 win together, a rate of about 1 in 12, though the pair clearly know each other well by now.

Recent form shows nothing in the win column across his last 6 outings, and his finishing positions of 13th, 21st, 2nd, 11th, 16th, and 4th paint a mixed picture. That second place suggests the ability is still there, and at six years old with a trainer willing to keep placing him in the right spots, Feel The Need looks like a horse whose next win is a matter of when, not if.