Popmaster
Popmaster is the kind of horse that frustrates everyone around him—a genuine performer at the highest level who simply cannot seem to find the winning thread often enough. The eight-year-old has won just three times from 51 races, a win rate of roughly one in every 17 attempts, but those three victories tell a different story than the bare statistics suggest. His first win came at Ascot on 14 July 2023, followed by a Class 1 success at Newbury just two months later. For a horse competing mostly in Class 2 races—where he has never won from 31 attempts—those top-level victories mark him out as a horse capable of mixing it with the very best, even if he rarely gets the job done.Based on TrackLab's analysis
📊 Key numbers
Career totals for this horse
🔍 Full analysis
Our model's view, based on this horse's career and recent runs
The pattern of his racing reveals what his trainer Ed Walker already knows: Popmaster is a wet-ground specialist. On soft or heavy ground, he has won two of his five races, a 40 percent win rate that stands in stark contrast to his overall record. Walker has made no secret of his ambitions for the horse, suggesting the soft turf at Doncaster could unlock a huge race this season in the Park Stakes. That kind of optimism from a trainer sending out 76 winners this season deserves attention—Walker doesn't throw praise around lightly, and his conviction that Popmaster "won't be at his best" until conditions suit seems genuine. The horse's most recent win came at Kempton Park on 4 February 2026, seven months ago now, and his last six races have yielded nothing but minor placings. That drought is real, but it also means he is overdue, and when soft ground arrives at the right track, he may yet remind everyone why he belongs at the top table.
⚡ Strengths and risks
What helps this horse and what to watch out for
✓ What works in their favour
✔ Excellent record on standard_to_slow ground: 1 wins from 7 starts (14%)
✔ Excellent record on soft ground: 2 wins from 5 starts (40%)
⚠ What to watch out for
⚠ Poor record on good ground: 0 wins from 14 starts
⚠ Poor record on standard ground: 0 wins from 9 starts
⚠ Poor record on good_to_firm ground: 0 wins from 7 starts
⚠ Poor record on good_to_soft ground: 0 wins from 7 starts
⚠ Yet to win at Newcastle in 5 attempts
🎯 Where this horse runs best
Results split by ground, distance, race level and track shape
🌧 Ground
Standard to slow (all-weather)
Loves
Good (a little give)
Avoids
Standard (all-weather)
Avoids
Good to firm (fairly firm)
Avoids
Good to soft (some give)
Avoids
🏅 Race level
Class 2 (high-level)
Avoids
Class 3 (mid-level)
Loves
🏟 Track shape
Right-handed, long straights
Likes
Left-handed, long straights
Ok
Left-handed, tight turns
Unknown
Left-handed, hilly
Unknown
Right-handed, hilly
Unknown
📅 Recent runs
The last 10 races, most recent first
5 Sep
3rd
Kempton Park
1m1f – 1m2f · 14 runners
8 Aug
6th
Ascot
7f – 1m · Good_To_Firm · 10 runners
4 Jul
4th
Sandown Park
1m1f – 1m2f · Good_To_Firm · 17 runners
5 Jun
4th
Epsom Downs
1m1f – 1m2f · Good_To_Soft · 18 runners
9 May
15th
Ascot
7f – 1m · Good · 29 runners
3 Apr
7th
Newcastle
1m1f – 1m2f · Standard · 14 runners
27 Feb
DNF
Lingfield Park
1m1f – 1m2f · Standard · 12 runners
25 Feb
DNF
Kempton Park
7f – 1m · Standard_To_Slow · 5 runners
4 Feb
🏆 Won
Kempton Park
1m1f – 1m2f · Standard_To_Slow · 10 runners
7 Jan
2nd
Kempton Park
7f – 1m · Standard_To_Slow · 8 runners
🏇 Jockeys
Every jockey who has ridden this horse, most rides first
🏟 Course record
Win rate at each course this horse has visited
| Course | Races | Results | Last run | Win rate |
|---|
| Ascot Galloping |
14 |
1 win, 3 seconds, 10 other |
8 Aug |
7.1% |
| Kempton Park Galloping |
7 |
1 win, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, 2 other |
5 Sep |
14.3% |
| Newbury Galloping |
6 |
1 win, 2 seconds, 3 other |
17 Aug |
16.7% |
| Newcastle Galloping |
5 |
1 third, 4 other |
3 Apr |
0% |
| Newmarket Galloping |
4 |
4 other |
18 Apr |
0% |
| Ayr Galloping |
2 |
2 other |
17 Sep |
0% |
| Doncaster Galloping |
2 |
2 other |
14 Sep |
0% |
| Lingfield Park Sharp |
2 |
1 third, 1 other |
27 Feb |
0% |
| chelmsford |
2 |
1 second, 1 other |
11 Dec |
0% |
| York Galloping |
2 |
2 other |
8 Oct |
0% |
| Southwell Galloping |
1 |
1 third |
1 Jan |
0% |
| Epsom Downs Undulating |
1 |
1 other |
5 Jun |
0% |
| Sandown Park Galloping |
1 |
1 other |
4 Jul |
0% |
| Goodwood Undulating |
1 |
1 other |
30 Jul |
0% |
| Haydock Park Galloping |
1 |
1 other |
8 Jun |
0% |