Newfangled

Across 32 career races, Newfangled has won 7 times and finished in the frame on 17 other occasions — that is a win rate of 22%, or roughly 1 in every 5 races, which is a solid return at this level. The horse thrives on normal ground, winning 5 of 9 races in those conditions, a 56% win rate that is genuinely striking. Put Newfangled on a dry, reasonable surface and it becomes a completely different proposition. Most of its racing has come at Class 6, the entry-level tier, where it has won 4 of 12 races.

Rob Hornby has been in the saddle for 16 of those 32 races, picking up 2 wins together — about 1 in every 8 times they have partnered. It is a workmanlike rather than sparkling record between them, though the horse's overall form is strong enough that Hornby keeps coming back. Portman's yard has been in good nick this season, sending out 46 winners, and the trainer clearly thinks well of Newfangled, noting the horse comes from a family that has already served the stable nicely.

That said, the last couple of runs have not been what anyone hoped. Recent form reads 5th and 6th in the two most recent outings, sandwiched around more encouraging efforts earlier in the sequence. Portman has acknowledged the dip openly, calling it "a bit of a concern," though he insists the horse seems healthy and has simply risen up the weights — meaning the handicapper has made life harder as a consequence of earlier success. It is the classic small-horse problem: win enough and they raise the bar on you. Portman's view is that there is still more winning to be found, particularly over a mile to a mile and two furlongs, and he is targeting a run before the end of August. Given what this horse does when the ground is right and the track is Wolverhampton, it would be unwise to write it off just yet.