French Affair

The recent form reads 2-4-5-2-4-2, which tells an interesting story in itself. Those repeated second-place finishes suggest a horse that is competitive and regularly mixing it with the leaders — it just keeps finding one too good. Win once from eleven races and you're winning roughly 1 in every 11 times out, which is a modest return, but the five places alongside it mean French Affair has finished in the top three or four more often than not. This isn't a horse that disappears out the back — it shows up and performs, which is its own kind of reliability.

At the shorter distances, between five and six-and-a-half furlongs, the record improves noticeably. One win from five races at those trips works out at 20%, or 1 in every 5 — meaningfully better than its overall average, and a useful pointer for anyone watching. Speed horses tend to be straightforward: either the pace suits them or it doesn't, and French Affair appears to be at its best when the race is sharp and direct.

The yard behind it is Richard Hannon's operation at Herridge in Wiltshire, which has been in strong form this season with 118 winners sent out — a total that speaks to a busy, well-organised stable that knows how to get horses ready to run. Sean Levey, Hannon's retained jockey, has been in the saddle for six of French Affair's eleven races and was on board for the Newbury win. Together they've won 1 from 6, which is around 17% — or roughly 1 in every 6 rides together. That's a solid partnership in the making, even if the wins haven't flowed yet.

Raced just yesterday and still active, French Affair is very much a horse in the middle of its story rather than at the end of it. At 3 years old, there's time for the pieces to fall into place — and the Newbury win proves it knows how to get its head in front when conditions are right.