Freddy Robinson

The headline result of his career came at Musselburgh in December 2022 — a Class 2 win, which puts it firmly among the better races in Britain. That was also his first career win, so he announced himself at the top end rather than working his way up through the lower grades. Curiously, the bulk of his racing since has been in Class 5 company — the day-to-day bread and butter of the sport — and he hasn't won a single one of those 14 races. He seems to need the occasion to bring out the best in him.

What Freddy Robinson genuinely loves is wet ground. In properly wet, muddy conditions he has won 2 of just 5 races — that's a 40% conversion rate, which is extraordinary. On slightly soft ground he wins 2 from 13, roughly 1 in 6. When the sun comes out and the ground firms up, he's a very different proposition. Ellison said in early 2024 that he was simply waiting for better ground to bring him back, but the numbers suggest that's the wrong instinct — the mud is where this horse comes alive.

His current form is striking. Going back through his last six races, the sequence reads: a win, then a sixth, a fourth, and three consecutive second-place finishes right up to the present. He raced just yesterday and is clearly in a rich vein. Regular jockey Ben Robinson — no apparent relation, despite the shared surname — has ridden him 18 times for just the one win, but the recent momentum suggests that partnership may be due another moment. Brian Ellison's yard has hit 43 winners this season, so the operation is firing on all cylinders. The question now is whether Freddy Robinson can turn all these near-misses into something more. He's been knocking on the door repeatedly — sooner or later, it has to open.