Politacus

The partnership with jockey Liam Harrison is the most striking thread running through Politacus's career. In 13 races together, Harrison has ridden the horse to all three of its wins — a win rate of 23%, or roughly 1 in every 4 rides. That's a meaningful number. For context, most jockey-horse combinations at this level win somewhere between 1 in 8 and 1 in 10 races. When Harrison is in the saddle, something clearly clicks, and that combination is worth watching for.

Trainer Fergal O'Brien has had a productive season from his Withington yard in Gloucestershire, sending out 90 winners, and Politacus has been part of that operation long enough to be well understood. The horse tends to do its best work on slightly soft ground — wet but not heavy — winning 2 from 7 in those conditions, or roughly 1 in every 3 and a half races. That's a noticeably better return than its overall record, and it suggests O'Brien will be keeping a close eye on the forecast when planning where to run next.

The most recent win came at Hereford in April 2024, now 26 months ago, and the last six runs have produced no wins — though the recent form of 2-2-3-6-2-7 (reading oldest to most recent) shows plenty of placed efforts mixed in. Politacus is not a horse in freefall; it is a horse that keeps turning up, keeps getting placed, and keeps hinting that a win might not be far away. It raced just yesterday, which speaks to its durability at eight years old. Whether it can get back to winning ways likely depends on the ground coming up soft and Harrison being booked for the ride — two factors worth monitoring if you're following this horse's progress.