Rock N Roll Pinkie

The York story is worth telling on its own. Two wins from just four races at the track is a remarkable hit rate — winning 1 in every 2 visits to a course is the kind of stat that makes punters very attentive when the entries go up. Some horses simply take to a particular track, whether it's the shape, the ground, the long straight, or something nobody can fully explain. Whatever it is, York clearly suits this horse down to the ground. The September win there was the most recent success of its career, and it's a result that keeps the yard optimistic about what's still to come.

Furtado's operation has been in fine form, sending out 34 winners this season, and his partnership with jockey Marco Ghiani on this horse is particularly productive. In 12 races together, Ghiani has ridden Rock N Roll Pinkie to 4 wins — that's 1 win in every 3 rides, a ratio that most trainers and jockeys would be delighted with. The horse also has a clear preference for wet or muddy conditions, winning 3 of its 6 races on that kind of surface, a 50% win rate that is simply exceptional. When the forecast turns grim and the ground gets soft, this horse gets serious.

The one caveat in the profile is that most of its career has been spent at Class 5 level — the lower end of the racing ladder — where it has won just 1 from 12 races at that specific grade, suggesting it doesn't always dominate the races it's expected to. But zoom out and the full picture is of a consistent, hard-working horse with a specialist track, a favourite jockey, and a real love of testing ground. That's a combination worth following.