Proud Nation

Since that breakthrough, though, things have gone quiet. Proud Nation hasn't won in the six races that have followed, and it's been thirteen months since York. The recent form reads as a string of near-misses — places in three of those last six runs, which shows the horse is competitive and getting into the frame, but can't quite find the winning post. With a win rate of roughly 1 in 8 across its career, Proud Nation is a horse that shows ability in patches rather than consistency.

The horse is trained by Richard and Peter Fahey at Musley Bank in North Yorkshire. The Fahey yard has been productive this season, sending out 23 winners, and they clearly saw something worth developing in Proud Nation to take it to York and win at that level on debut. Whether the horse can rediscover that form and add to its single victory remains to be seen — but the fact it won a Class 2 race at all suggests there's genuine quality in there somewhere.