King of The Road

What makes King of The Road worth watching, though, is how sharply his form changes depending on the ground. On slightly soft conditions, he becomes a different proposition entirely, winning three of his four races on that terrain—a 75% win rate that suggests he genuinely enjoys getting his feet into the turf. Run him on fast, dry ground and he struggles, which explains why a horse with only three career wins has stayed in training this long. The trick, for Ben Pauling's Naunton yard, is finding the right race with the right weather forecast.

Kielan Woods has ridden him three times and won on him three times, a perfect record that stands out sharply against his overall form. That suggests Woods knows how to get the best from him, or at least that they have a natural understanding. In Class 4 races—the level King of The Road typically competes at—he has managed just one win from nine attempts, which tells you he is competitive enough to run, but rarely the horse they are trying to beat. His recent form has been modest: a seventh place, fourth, fifteenth, ninth, second, and sixteenth in his last six races, with that second place the only real note of encouragement.

He raced just yesterday, so he is an active horse in work. Whether he will ever recapture the form that brought him those three wins remains uncertain, but on a soft day at the track, with Kielan Woods in the saddle, there might yet be another race in him.