Maxi King

That "occasionally" matters, because his best moment was a big one. On 2,000 Guineas day at Newmarket in May 2024 — one of the great days in the British racing calendar — Maxi King won a top-level Class 2 race, which puts him among the better horses in the country. Jockey David Egan noted afterwards that he was still running on through the famous Newmarket Dip rather than tiring, and described the fast, dry ground as about as quick as the horse would want. It was a performance that suggested real quality. The trouble is, that was over two years ago, and he has not won since.

The last six races have brought two second-place finishes and four fourth-place finishes — close enough to suggest he is still competitive, but not close enough to suggest a winner is just around the corner. Egan, who has ridden him in 8 of his 19 races, has managed just the one win together, a ratio of roughly 1 in every 8. That is not a partnership that has clicked consistently, though it is worth noting the horse has been placed in several of those runs.

Where Maxi King genuinely comes alive is on wet, muddy ground. In four races on heavy or waterlogged going, he has won twice — a remarkable 50% record that tells you this is a horse built for conditions most horses hate. His trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy, who has sent out 40 winners from his Newmarket yard this season, knows it too. Speaking back in September 2023 after a hock injury had kept the horse off the track, he made clear that finding a race on soft ground before the end of the turf season was the priority. A horse that wins half his races in the mud is a horse worth keeping an eye on whenever autumn rain arrives.