Punxsutawney Phil

The horse last won at Newcastle on 13 February 2025, nearly two years ago now. Since then his form has drifted. In his last six races he has picked up two second places and two further places further back, with a tenth thrown in for bad measure. That run three races ago—finishing fourth—was the closest he has come to a win in his recent outings. At his level, nineteen months without a victory suggests he is sliding rather than climbing, even if he is still showing enough to stay competitive occasionally.

Mark Walford's yard at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire has a productive season behind it with 35 winners to their name, so the horse is in a stable with proven form. Jockey Jamie Hamilton, who has ridden Punxsutawney Phil nine times, has done fractionally better aboard him than the horse's overall record—two wins from those nine races, a 22% win rate—suggesting they work together reasonably well. His first career win came at Sedgefield back in October 2021, and he does his best work in Class 4 races where he has managed 3 wins from 21 attempts.

Still racing after nine years is testament to the horse's durability, if not to any recent success. Punxsutawney Phil remains the kind of horse trainers keep turning out because he retains just enough winning form to justify another chance, even if those chances are coming less often these days.