Pawpaw

What makes Pawpaw interesting is the precise way it operates. On slightly soft ground — the kind that comes after rain, when the track is yielding underfoot — the horse transforms into something genuinely sharp. On those conditions, it has won 3 of its 11 races, a 27 per cent win rate that stands out starkly against its overall 11 per cent record. It is not a world-beater, but it is a horse that knows what it likes, and it performs noticeably better when it gets it. At Fontwell Park, a course clearly suited to its running style, it has won 2 of its 4 races there — a specialist's record.

The partnership with jockey Caoilin Quinn has been particularly productive. Together they have won 3 races from 10 outings, a 30 per cent win rate that suggests real understanding between rider and horse. Quinn seems to know how to get the best out of Pawpaw, and the numbers back that up. Trained by D J Jeffreys at Hinton on the Green in Worcestershire, Pawpaw races at Class 5 level, where it has won 4 of 26 races. The yard itself is modest — four winners this season — but Pawpaw remains active and recently raced just a day ago.

What stands out most is recent form: Pawpaw has won 2 of its last 6 races, which suggests the horse still has something in the tank. The latest victory came at Hereford on 23 February 2025. For a nine-year-old with 38 races on its record, that kind of consistency is the mark of a horse that has earned its place in the yard. It may never win a big race, but it keeps winning small ones, and that is a perfectly respectable career.