Modern Times

That single win came at Ripon on 18 June 2025, and it matters more than it might seem. Ripon is a sharp, compact track in North Yorkshire that suits quick, nippy horses, and Modern Times clearly took to it. The win came over the shorter distances — between five and six-and-a-half furlongs — where this horse has recorded that one win from six attempts, a win rate of roughly 1 in 6. That's a dramatically better return than anywhere else in the record, and it's the clearest signal of where Modern Times belongs.

What makes the current moment worth watching is the recent form. Reading the last six races from most recent backwards — third, fifth, first, fourth, fourth, second — there's an obvious dip after the Ripon win, but the horse raced just one day ago and clearly remains in active training. A third-place finish in the most recent outing suggests Modern Times is still competing, still placing, still knocking on the door.

The trainer is Tim Easterby, whose yard at Great Habton in North Yorkshire has sent out 138 winners this season. That is a seriously productive operation — Easterby knows how to place horses, and when a stable is firing at that rate, the horses around them tend to be well managed and well targeted. The fact that most of Modern Times' races have come at Class 4 level — one step below the top tier of everyday racing — with zero wins from 12 attempts at that grade does raise a question about the right level. The Ripon success actually came at a different level, which hints that finding the right race at the right trip might unlock more of what this horse can do.

Regular jockey Andrew Mullen has been aboard for nine of those 17 races without getting to the winner's enclosure together, but given the overall record, that's more a reflection of the horse's journey than the rider's. One win, plenty of places, and a trainer who clearly hasn't given up — Modern Times is very much a work in progress.