Penny Mountain

That one win came at Newcastle on New Year's Day 2026, and it remains her only career victory to date. It's now five months since she last tasted success, and her last six runs read 8-2-2-3-5-6 — a sequence that tells its own story. She's been knocking on the door, finishing second twice and third once in that run, but can't quite close the deal. For anyone watching her race, that's the recurring theme: close, but not quite.

She does most of her racing over shorter distances, between five and six and a half furlongs, and that's where her single win came from. In 12 races at those trips she has won once — roughly 1 in every 12 — which is a modest return, though the placing record softens that somewhat. At the level she typically races at, the lowest tier of British racing, she has won 1 from 8 attempts, which works out at about 1 in every 8, and that's probably where she's most competitive.

Her regular jockey Amie Waugh has ridden her five times without a win between them, though it's worth noting they've had their share of near-misses in that run. Gary Rutherford trains her from his yard in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, and has had a productive season with seven winners already sent out. Penny Mountain hasn't been one of them yet, but with her running just yesterday and finishing mid-field, she remains in active work and another opportunity won't be long coming. Whether she can recapture that Newcastle magic is the question her supporters keep asking.