Modern Times

The breakthrough came at Ripon on 18 June 2025, and it mattered more than a bare statistic suggests. Ripon is a tight, sharp track that suits nimble horses who can travel efficiently over short distances, and Modern Times has shown its best form over the sprint trips of five to six-and-a-half furlongs — winning 1 from 7 races at those distances, which at 14% is actually a meaningful improvement on its overall record of just 1 in 20.

What makes the overall picture slightly curious is that Modern Times has run 12 times in Class 4 races — the bread-and-butter level of racing, one or two steps below the top tier — and hasn't won once at that level. The Ripon win came elsewhere on the card. That's a horse that has repeatedly been placed in races it should, on paper, be competitive in, and kept finding something to beat it. Seven places from 20 races means it has been in the frame over a third of the time — it's not slow, it just hasn't been able to get its head in front.

Andrew Mullen has had nine chances in the saddle without a win together, which is the kind of statistic that gets noticed in a busy yard. Easterby's team have been in excellent form this season — 128 winners is a serious number that puts the yard among the most productive in the north of England — so the horses around Modern Times are clearly winning. This one has simply taken longer to join the party. Whether Ripon was the turning point or a one-off remains to be seen. It raced just yesterday, so the answer may not be far away.