Soul Icon

That Kempton success on 27 December 2024 matters more than it might first appear. Soul Icon had gone through a dry spell, failing to win in his previous six outings, finishing with placings but nothing more. The gap between victories had stretched to 21 months, a long time for any horse to carry the tag of "last winner." But he broke through at a top-level track, which is not his natural habitat — he wins only once every 9 attempts in the highest-grade races. What Soul Icon does excel at is finding the right course. At Fontwell Park, he is almost unbeatable: three wins from three races there, a 100% record that stands out like a beacon in his otherwise ordinary statistics.

The horse also has a clear preference for normal ground conditions, winning 8 of 17 races on standard terrain — a 47% win rate that drops noticeably when the going gets heavy or the track runs fast. Harry Kimber, his regular jockey, has ridden him 11 times and won on 6 of those occasions, a 55% win rate that shows genuine partnership and understanding. Trainer Keiran Burke's yard in Whitcombe, Dorset, has been quietly productive this season with 12 winners overall, and Soul Icon remains a functioning part of that operation, proof that longevity in racing often matters more than brilliant peak performances.