Since then, though, Nifty has gone six races without winning, and recent form — seventh, sixth, fifth, tenth, eighth, and third — tells a story of a horse that is competitive without quite getting to the front. The third place is the closest it has come, but the string of mid-pack finishes suggests something has been tricky to recapture since that purple patch last summer.
The yard behind Nifty is Richard Hughes, based at Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, and it is a stable very much in form — 60 winners already this season. Hughes is a former champion jockey who has built a strong training operation, and a horse capable of winning at Class 2 level fits neatly with the quality he aims at. That Salisbury win was not a fluke or a soft opportunity — it was one of the better races in Britain, which makes the subsequent struggle to add to it all the more worth watching.
Nifty raced just one day ago, so this is a horse very much in the middle of its campaign. At three years old, there is every reason to think development is still happening. The question is whether those two fast weeks in June represent a glimpse of what Nifty genuinely is, or a high point that will take time and the right conditions to rediscover.
| Course | Races | Results | Last run | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chelmsford | 2 | 1 win, 1 other | 9 Oct | 50% |
| Salisbury Undulating |
2 | 1 win, 1 third | 25 Jun | 50% |
| Wolverhampton Galloping |
2 | 1 third, 1 other | 30 Mar | 0% |
| Newmarket Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 20 Jun | 0% |
| Newbury Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 2 Jul | 0% |
| Brighton Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 29 May | 0% |
| Chester Tight |
1 | 1 other | 13 Sep | 0% |
| Lingfield Park Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 28 Apr | 0% |