Hectic

At six years old and still racing a day ago, Hectic remains active. His trainer Liam Bailey, based at Middleham in North Yorkshire, has crafted a yard hitting form this season with seventeen winners. Bailey has suggested that Hectic trains himself—a phrase trainers use for horses who are low-maintenance and straightforward, who do not need coaxing or careful handling. The problem, it seems, is finding the right race. Hectic has never won at Class 4 level, the bread-and-butter grade where he is most often entered. He is a horse who prefers softer ground and needs space to run, a decent horse at smaller tracks where the pace suits him, but one who has not managed to translate his skill at specialist distances into consistent wins. With jockey Billy Garritty he has won once in six races together, suggesting they work well enough when fortune favours them, but there is no deeper magic there. At thirty-five races run, Hectic is what he appears: a capable lower-grade performer, useful to have in the yard but unlikely to trouble the bigger stages.