Pounding Poet

That Uttoxeter record deserves a closer look. Two wins from just 5 races at the track is the kind of ratio that makes trainers tick the course before anywhere else on the calendar. For context, plenty of horses run their whole careers without winning twice at the same track at that level. Pounding Poet has done it across three years — first in October 2022, and again in July 2025 — suggesting the track suits something very specific about how he moves or races. Add in that his best performances come on normal ground, where he has won 3 of 12 races, and you get a picture of a horse with genuine preferences that his team have learned to respect.

Tom Lacey, who trains from Woolhope in Herefordshire, has had a productive season with 37 winners sent out from the yard, and Pounding Poet has been one of the more consistent contributors. Stan Sheppard has been in the saddle most often — nine times in total — but their partnership has produced just 1 win together, which hints that the horse can be tricky to get the best out of on any given day. What is beyond doubt is that Pounding Poet has found form at exactly the right moment. His last six races read 8-1-2-5-3-1 in reverse, meaning two wins and a second from his most recent three outings. He won a Class 2 race at Ayr just this week, which is a significant performance for a ten-year-old still operating at that level.

Lacey has shown over the years that he is happy to manage Pounding Poet carefully — switching between obstacles, giving him breaks when needed, targeting specific tracks rather than chasing prize money indiscriminately. That approach seems to be paying off right now. A horse that wins 2 of its last 6 races, including a top-level event just days ago, is one that is very much worth following.