Queensbury Boy

His best results have come in Class 3 races, one step below the very top tier, where he has won 3 from 7, a win rate of 43% — almost every other time he has lined up at that level, he has won. That tells you he belongs there and arguably hints he could stretch a little further. Mickey Bowen's yard has been in fine form this season, sending out 52 winners, and Queensbury Boy looks like one of its more interesting tools.

The partnership with amateur rider and part-owner David Maxwell is worth noting. In five races together they have won three, a 60% win rate, which is a remarkable return — that is not a jockey-horse combination that flukes results, that is a proper partnership built on understanding. Maxwell's involvement goes beyond simply riding; he is invested in this horse in every sense, and Bowen has spoken publicly about Maxwell's ambitions with him, including the prospect of a race that clearly means a great deal to the owner personally.

The horse's brief history is genuinely interesting. He won his first career race at Chepstow on Boxing Day 2023 before running well enough at Punchestown — a major Irish track — to attract serious attention. Bowen has pointed out that the only horse to beat him is rated 139 and has competed at Grade 1 level, the very highest class in the sport. That is not a defeat to be embarrassed about; if anything it tells you where the ceiling might be.

Queensbury Boy won this week, at Market Rasen on 18 July 2026, and raced again just yesterday — so whatever form he is carrying right now, it is fresh. His recent run of results reads a first, an eighth, a second, a sixth, a second, and a fifth. Inconsistent perhaps, but the wins and placed efforts are there, and Bowen has made no secret that chasing — a different and more demanding discipline — is the long-term plan. The feeling around this horse is that the best is still to come.