Fiercely Proud

Those two Class 1 victories are the headline acts. He won at Cheltenham on New Year's Day 2023, one of the most iconic venues in the sport, and then returned to the highest level to win at Ascot in December 2024. Ascot is clearly a track that suits him: he has won 2 of his 4 races there, and his most recent victory — a Class 2 race at the same course on 14 February this year — showed he retains plenty of ability. Pauling was candid afterwards, noting that tactics had been the key, and that the team had been forced to switch their approach after getting things wrong earlier in the season. There had been an incident at Cheltenham where he got loose, and a race at Newbury where they rode him too close to the pace. At Ascot, they dropped him out and it worked perfectly. It is a reminder that a horse's form is rarely just about the horse.

His partnership with jockey Kielan Woods is one worth noting. In six races together, Woods has won 4 of them — that is a win rate of 67%, or two in every three rides. That kind of record between a horse and jockey suggests genuine chemistry rather than coincidence.

The distance range of a mile and six furlongs to two miles also appears to bring out the best in him. He has won 3 of his 6 races at those trips — exactly half — which is a remarkable conversion rate for a horse regularly facing top-class opposition. Pauling has hinted at targets including a valuable £100,000 handicap at Sandown, and while Fiercely Proud can be a handful — his trainer described him as a horse who can "get above himself" — when he settles, there is clearly still more to come from him.