Second Fiddle

The overall record — 6 wins and 10 places from 31 races, or roughly 1 in every 5 races — tells the story of a horse that competes consistently without being exceptional everywhere. But zoom in on the conditions it likes and the picture sharpens considerably. On normal ground, it wins 5 from 11 races, almost 1 in every 2, which is the kind of number that gets professional gamblers paying attention. Add in the distance range of a mile and a furlong to a mile and two furlongs, where it has won all 6 of its career races from 18 attempts, and you have a horse that is not versatile so much as highly specific — put it in the right conditions and it delivers.

Jockey Aiden Brookes clearly brings out the best in this horse. Together they have won 4 of their 6 races — that is two-thirds of their appearances together — which is an extraordinary partnership record for a horse that only wins about one race in five overall. Something clicks between them.

The current form is more muted. Second Fiddle has not won in its last 6 races, with finishes reading 3-2-3-4-11-8 going back from its most recent run, which came just yesterday. The placing suggests it is not running badly, but the wins have dried up since that last victory at Newcastle back in December 2025 — now seven months ago. Trainer Iain Jardine, whose yard in Carrutherstown has sent out 57 winners this season, clearly knows what this horse is capable of, and the recent activity suggests they are still searching for the right opportunity to get it back in the winner's enclosure. At its best level — the lower end of the class structure, where it has an extraordinary 5 wins from 5 races — and back at Newcastle on normal ground, this is a horse that has shown it can be almost unbeatable.