Green Pursuit

That single win came at Catterick Bridge in April 2025, and it remains the high point of the career so far. Since then, Green Pursuit has gone 14 months without adding to it, with recent form of 5-3-5-11-11-2 suggesting a horse that finds ways to be competitive without quite finishing the job. The second place in that sequence is encouraging, though, and the horse raced just yesterday, which means Spencer is clearly keeping it busy and looking for the right opportunity.

The most interesting detail here is what the trainer says about what Green Pursuit actually needs. Spencer is convinced the horse wants to step up to seven furlongs — slightly further than it has been running — and that a bit of wet or muddy ground would suit it rather than hinder it. That is a trainer who thinks he has been running his horse slightly short of its best trip, which means the results so far may genuinely not reflect what the horse is capable of. Spencer describes it as "unexposed", which in racing means there is untapped ability that has not yet shown up in the form book. With 13 winners already sent out from the yard this season, Spencer clearly knows how to get horses to win, and his confidence here feels grounded rather than hopeful.

Regular jockey Dale Swift has partnered Green Pursuit eight times without a win between them, which is a run of blanks long enough to raise a question about whether the combination has quite clicked. At Class 4 level — solid, competitive races without being the very top tier — Green Pursuit has also yet to score in five attempts. Both of those facts make the trainer's optimism either misplaced or genuinely prescient. With the season entering its final stretch and a horse Spencer believes is still finding its best, the next few weeks will be telling.