Makinbecon

The horse prefers normal ground conditions, where he has won 2 of his 6 races — a 33 per cent win rate that stands out sharply against his overall performance. This is the kind of detail that matters. On fast, dry ground or on wet, muddy surfaces, Makinbecon struggles; on standard going, he performs more than twice as well. Trained by Barry Murphy's yard near Caerfyrddin in Carmarthenshire, Makinbecon won his first race at Newton Abbot on 27 May 2026, then claimed his second victory at Market Rasen on 5 July — a gap of just over a month that suggested he was building momentum. Since then, though, the horse has not found the winner's enclosure for three months, despite racing regularly. His last six runs tell a patchy story: a third-place finish was his best result, but he also recorded two sixth-place finishes, which hints at deteriorating form or simply the bad luck of drawing poor ground and difficult conditions.

Makinbecon is active and still racing, having run just a day ago. He remains a useful handicap competitor on the right ground, but the long break from winning suggests either that the venues and conditions have not suited him recently, or that he has hit a plateau. For a horse of his age and record, he is exactly what he appears to be: a dependable claimer who knows how to win on his day but does not have the class or consistency to do it often.