Handstands

What makes that figure even more striking is where those wins have come. Four of Handstands' six career victories have arrived in Class 1 races — the very top tier of British racing — giving it a 40% win rate at that level too, winning 4 of 10 races. That is not a horse scraping around in lesser company and padding its numbers. This is a 7-year-old that has repeatedly been put up against the best and regularly beaten them.

The wet-weather record is worth lingering on. In soft or muddy conditions, Handstands has won 4 from just 6 races — a 67% win rate. That means when the rain comes down and the ground gets heavy, this horse becomes a different proposition entirely. Trainers, jockeys, and punters all know it: if Handstands lines up on a wet day, you take notice. Ben Pauling's yard in Naunton, Gloucestershire, has been in excellent form this season with 86 winners, and Handstands has been one of the jewels in that operation. Regular jockey Ben Jones has ridden the horse in 12 of its 15 races, winning 5 of them — a 42% win rate together, which suggests a genuine partnership built on familiarity.

That said, the last six races tell a more complicated story. Three falls or unseated riders, a third, a fourth, and a second — no wins since Sandown on 1 February 2025, which is now 14 months ago. The horse is clearly still competing at the highest level and running respectably, but that winning feeling has proved elusive of late. Whether this is a blip or something more persistent is the question hanging over every future run. With a yard in such good form and a jockey who knows this horse inside out, the tools are certainly there for Handstands to return to winning ways — especially if the skies darken and the ground softens.