Never So Brave

The career arc has been steep. Never So Brave broke through at Thirsk in April 2024, then followed up at Chester a few weeks later, but it was the summer of 2025 that announced this as a horse operating at an entirely different level. Three wins in the space of ten weeks — a top-level race at Ascot in July, the highest grade of race at York in August, sandwiched around a strong Class 2 win at Ascot in June — is the kind of sequence that turns heads in racing. Winning at the very top twice in a single season is something most horses never manage once.

Ascot deserves a special mention. Never So Brave has raced there five times and won twice — that 2 from 5 record might not sound dramatic, but at a track as competitive as Ascot, with some of the best horses in Britain and Europe turning up regularly, returning a 40% win rate is remarkable. The horse has clearly learned to love the place. Add in the preference for fast, dry ground — three wins from just four races on that surface, a 75% conversion rate — and the ground conditions on race day suddenly become very relevant for anyone following this horse's career.

Trained by Andrew Balding at his yard in Kingsclere, Hampshire, Never So Brave is part of one of the most productive operations in the country right now. Balding's yard has sent out 202 winners this season alone — a number that reflects a team at the very top of their game, and gives confidence that a horse in their care is being placed and managed intelligently.

Recent form shows a fifth and then a second place in the last two runs, which suggests Never So Brave is still running well even if the wins have dried up slightly since that York triumph in August. Currently active and in good shape, this is a horse with the profile of a genuine big-race performer — proven at the top level, with a course it loves and ground conditions that bring out the best in it.