Trainer Michael Appleby, who operates out of Oakham in Rutland and has sent out 71 winners already this season, is clearly fond of this horse. He points out that Intrusively finished third in the Richmond Stakes — one of the top races in Britain for young sprinters — and ran fifth in the Doncaster sales race, just three places behind a horse that would go on to win the French Derby. In other words, this is a horse that has mixed it with some genuinely elite company. The modest win tally looks rather different once you understand the level he's been competing at.
A winter interrupted by minor physical issues set him back, but Appleby says his comeback run at Newcastle was more promising than the finishing position implied. The horse met traffic throughout the race — essentially got stuck in traffic with nowhere to go — and Appleby believes he'd have finished at least fourth without that inconvenience. He hit the line hard, meaning he was finishing strongly at the end, which is a good sign for races to come.
At his best distances of five to six and a half furlongs, he has won 1 from 5 races — a 20% win rate, or roughly 1 in 5 — which is a genuinely solid number for a horse at this level. He raced just one day ago, so he's very much in active campaign. The team clearly believes there's a win in him if things fall right, and given the calibre of horses he's already run against, they're probably not wrong.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doncaster Galloping |
5 | 5 other | 9 Jul | 0% |
| Nottingham Galloping |
3 | 1 win, 1 second, 1 other | 9 May | 33.3% |
| Haydock Park Galloping |
3 | 1 third, 2 other | 27 Sep | 0% |
| Newcastle Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 26 Jun | 0% |
| Goodwood Undulating |
2 | 1 third, 1 other | 29 Jul | 0% |
| Ayr Galloping |
1 | 1 second | 7 Jul | 0% |
| Redcar Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 20 Apr | 0% |