Neigh Botha

The most striking thing about Neigh Botha is what it does at Southwell. Three wins from seven races there works out at winning almost 1 in every 2 races at that track — a remarkable record at any level of the sport, and the kind of number that makes a knowledgeable punter reach for their wallet every time the horse is declared there. Some horses just click with a particular track, and Southwell is clearly where Neigh Botha feels most at home.

Distance matters too. When the race is run over between one mile six furlongs and two miles, this horse really finds another gear — 4 wins from just 9 races at those trips, which is winning 44% of the time, or nearly 1 in every 2 races. That is a significant advantage to know about, because outside that sweet spot, the record is considerably thinner. Most of its racing has come at Class 4 level, where it has won only 1 from 15 — just 7%, or roughly 1 in every 15 races — which suggests the horse is competitive at that level without being dominant, and needs things to fall right.

The team behind Neigh Botha is Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, based in Cheshire at Oldcastle. They are in sharp form this season, having sent out 43 winners — a yard clearly punching well. The trainer has noted that when Neigh Botha first arrived, it needed time to settle and improve on its early efforts, but that patience has paid off. Henry Brooke takes the ride most often, partnering the horse in 12 of its 33 races for 2 wins — winning roughly 1 in every 6 times they team up, which is a solid working relationship rather than a magical one.

A win at Warwick just eight weeks ago shows the horse is in decent nick, and with recent form reading two wins in its last five completed races, Neigh Botha is very much a horse to keep on the right side of right now.