Hold Your Fort

The overall career numbers are quietly impressive too. Seven wins and 15 places from 29 races — that is a win rate of roughly 1 in every 4 runs, and a place in well over half of them. For a horse operating at Class 3 level, which sits just below the very top tier of British racing, that kind of consistency is genuinely hard to achieve. Three wins from 9 races at that level, winning about 1 in every 3, suggests a horse that belongs in decent company and knows how to compete there. The last win came at Ascot in March 2026, which is about as far from a small Devon track as you can get — and it underlines that this is not just a one-venue wonder.

The partnership with jockey James Best is worth noting. Five wins from 14 rides together — winning roughly 1 in every 3 — is a proper working relationship, the kind where horse and rider have clearly figured each other out. Trainer Debra Hamer runs a small yard in Nantycaws in Carmarthenshire, and with three winners on the board this season already, Hold Your Fort is doing a significant share of the heavy lifting.

Recent form tells a mixed story. The last six runs read fifth, ninth, third, second, first, and a blank — so there has been some inconsistency, but a win is in there, and the horse raced just yesterday, meaning it is firmly in the middle of a busy campaign. At ten years old, experience counts for a lot, and Hold Your Fort has plenty of it. If the entries bring it back to Newton Abbot, the smart money would be paying attention.