Follow Charlie

Across 31 races in total, he has won 5 and finished in the places 11 more times — a win rate of around 1 in every 6 races, or 16%. That is a solid return for the level he competes at, where he is usually up against a field of horses all trying to break through in similar fashion. He tends to line up in Class 4 races, which sit in the middle of the British racing pyramid, and at that level he has won just 1 from 17 — roughly 1 in 17 — which tells you his wins have largely come when conditions or the course have given him an edge rather than through sheer dominance.

One edge he clearly prizes is decent, normal ground. On a standard surface he has won 2 of his 5 races in those conditions — a 40% win rate that is genuinely striking. That is not a fluke of small numbers; it tells a real story about how he moves and what brings out his best.

He is trained by R Mike Smith, based in Galston in East Ayrshire, a yard that has sent out 25 winners already this season — a healthy, productive operation. His regular partner in the saddle is Ben Smith, who has ridden him in 16 of his races and won twice together, winning roughly 1 in every 8 of those rides. It is a partnership that knows each other well by now, even if the wins have not come easily.

Follow Charlie's first career win came at Ayr on 2 January 2024, and he has added four more since. His recent form reads 1-4-4-9-4-2 — a mixed picture, but with that win and a runner-up finish bookending the sequence, the horse is clearly in decent nick right now. At Perth, on decent ground, he is a horse worth watching.