Nickelforce

The puzzle is where those wins have come from. Nickelforce has tried its luck 12 times in Class 4 races — the bread-and-butter level where most horses of this type make their living — and has not won a single one of them. Zero from twelve. Yet it keeps finding ways to win elsewhere, picking off races at tracks like Plumpton, where it got off the mark in January 2024, and most recently at Fakenham just four weeks ago. That Fakenham win came in late May 2026, and the horse has been back out racing since, which tells you the team at Edgcote are keeping it busy and in good form.

The partnership with jockey Harry Bannister is one of the more productive in the horse's career. Together they have won 3 of their 11 races — that is just over 1 in every 4, or around 27% — which is a genuinely strong return and suggests the two have developed a real understanding. When Bannister is in the saddle, something clicks.

Ben Case has had 15 winners this season from his yard, which marks it out as a place producing results with some consistency. Nickelforce sits comfortably within that picture — not a superstar, not a plodder, but a horse with a habit of being competitive and a knack for winning when conditions suit. The mystery of why Class 4 has eluded it entirely while it wins at other levels is the kind of thing that keeps racing interesting. Nickelforce has raced as recently as yesterday, so whatever the answer is, it is still being written.