Operation Gimcrack

Both career wins have come in 2026, which tells you something important — this is not a horse living off past glories. The first came at Southwell in January, and the second at Newcastle in late February. Two wins from the last six races (33%, or 1 in every 3) is a sharp improvement on anything that came before it, and it means Operation Gimcrack has done more in the past few months than in the entirety of its previous career.

The ground matters here. On normal conditions, this horse has won 2 of its 7 races — that is a 29% win rate, or nearly 1 in 3, which stands out against an overall record of 1 in 11. When the ground is right, the horse is a different animal. Most of its racing has come at Class 6 level, the entry-level tier of British racing, where it has won 2 of 14 races — roughly 1 in 7. That is the world it inhabits, and within that world it has started to look competitive.

Trainer Bryan Smart operates out of Sutton Bank in North Yorkshire, and the yard has sent out 18 winners this season — a healthy tally that suggests a yard in decent nick. Interestingly, regular jockey Harrison Shaw has yet to get Operation Gimcrack into the winner's enclosure across 7 rides together. It was with Shaw aboard for at least some of those recent victories, though the partnership's combined record of 0 wins from 7 is a detail worth noting.

Last raced just yesterday and still active, Operation Gimcrack is a horse whose career numbers look modest until you clock the recent form. A 6-year-old who has only just started winning is not unusual at this level — sometimes horses simply take time to figure it all out. Whether this is a genuine purple patch or a brief flicker is the question worth watching.