Rousing Encore

The highlight of his career so far came at York in May 2025, when he won a Class 2 race over six furlongs on fast, dry ground. It was the kind of performance that sticks in the memory. Trainer Ruth Carr described how jockey James Sullivan had to solve a puzzle on the day — the draw looked awkward, the horse likes to race with cover rather than out in the open, but going too far back on a quick track would have left him with too much to do. Sullivan edged him onto the rail and Rousing Encore simply put his head down and fought. That is not a fluke; that is a horse who knows what he is doing. Carr also pointed to his first run of the season at Newcastle, where he finished only behind a William Haggas horse who looks destined for Group-level company — the very top tier of the sport. Beaten by a potential star is a very different thing from just being beaten.

Ayr is a track where Rousing Encore has always looked at home. He has won 2 of his 5 races there, including a win as recently as September 2025, and that record — 2 from 5 at a single course — is the kind of thing that makes racing fans pay close attention when declarations come out. Course specialists are real, and he is one.

Sullivan has been the regular partner throughout much of his career, riding him in 26 of his 50 races and winning 3 of them together — the same 1-in-8 ratio that runs through everything Rousing Encore does. Ruth Carr's yard in Stillington has been in fine form this season, sending out 56 winners, and with a Newmarket six-furlong race on the horizon, Rousing Encore heads there as a horse whose trainer clearly believes the best is not yet behind him.