Newfangled

The Wolverhampton story is the headline. Newfangled has won 3 of his 4 races at that track, including his very first career victory there in July 2024 and his most recent win just this week in late April 2026. Winning 3 from 4 at a single course isn't luck — it suggests a horse who genuinely suits the tight, artificial surface at Wolves in a way that other venues haven't quite brought out of him. Some horses just click with a particular track and Newfangled is a textbook example.

His best performances come on normal ground, where he has won 5 of 9 races — more than half. That's a striking number. When the conditions suit him, he's not just competitive, he's a genuine threat. His regular partner Rob Hornby has been aboard for 14 of his races, producing 2 wins together, which works out at around 1 in every 7 rides — a modest return that suggests Newfangled saves his best for specific circumstances rather than performing on demand.

Portman himself has spoken openly about the horse, describing him as coming from a family that has served the yard well and noting that he'd like to think there's more winning to come over a mile to a mile and a quarter. He acknowledged that Newfangled had disappointed on a couple of recent occasions, though the horse appeared healthy and the trainer was already mapping out further runs. The yard has had 46 winners this season, so Portman clearly knows how to get horses running well — when Newfangled fires, you can understand why the yard keep him in training.

His recent form of 1-5-7-1-9-3 tells its own story: brilliant one day, disappointing the next. But given what Wolverhampton does for him, and given that he ran there just yesterday, don't be surprised if his name keeps cropping up on the results page at that particular track.