Night Bear

The peak of his career came in the autumn of 2022. He kicked things off with his first win at Haydock Park in July of that year, then stepped up to beat better horses in a top-level race at Nottingham in September. That Class 2 win is significant — these are among the best races in Britain, and most horses at Night Bear's level never get near them. For a horse who now typically competes at Class 6, the lowest tier, that Nottingham victory represents a high-water mark he has not been able to revisit.

His last win came at Brighton in June 2024, now two years ago, and he has gone six races without troubling the scorer since. That said, recent form shows some encouragement — a second place and a third in his last five completed outings suggest he is running consistently enough, even if the winner's enclosure has become a distant memory.

There are conditions that bring out the best in him. On fast, dry ground, he has won 3 times from just 6 attempts — that is a 50% win rate, which is a remarkable figure by any measure. When the ground is in his favour, he becomes a genuinely different proposition. He also suits a distance of around a mile and three or four furlongs, where he has claimed 3 of his 4 career wins from 20 races at that trip, a win rate of 15% — three times better than his overall average.

Jockey Jack Doughty has partnered him ten times without a win, which is one of those statistics that quietly tells you the partnership has not quite clicked yet. Behind the scenes, trainer Tony Carroll has had a productive season, sending out 136 winners from his yard in Worcestershire — so the operation knows how to win races. Night Bear, raced just yesterday and still active at nine, remains one of those horses who keeps showing up and keeps running respectable races. Whether he can find one more winning opportunity on dry ground at the right distance is the question his supporters are still asking.