Never So Brave

The summer of 2025 told the real story. Never So Brave won a Class 2 at Ascot in June, followed it up with a Class 1 at the same track in July, then headed to York in August and won another Class 1. Three top-level wins in the space of three months is the kind of run that turns heads in racing, and it marks this horse out as something genuinely special at its peak. Recent form reads 5-7-1-1-1 in the last five outings before its most recent run, which tells you exactly when that purple patch hit.

Ground conditions matter enormously in racing, and Never So Brave has a very clear preference. On fast, dry ground it has won 3 of just 4 races — a remarkable 75% — which suggests it comes alive when the summer sun has baked the turf hard. Wet or testing conditions appear to suit it far less. Anyone watching this horse run in a dry July should have that firmly in mind.

Ascot is where it has made its name, winning 2 from 5 there. That might sound modest, but Ascot draws the best fields in the country, and winning twice at one of Britain's most prestigious venues — including at the top level — is a genuine mark of quality. The yard behind all this is Andrew Balding's operation at Kingsclere in Hampshire, which has sent out 204 winners this season alone, one of the most productive yards in the country right now.

Never So Brave raced just one day ago, so it is very much in the thick of things. Whether it can recapture those highs of last summer remains to be seen, but a horse with this record, trained this well, on ground it loves, is always worth watching.