Spycatcher

In November 2025, just over a week ago, he won a Class 1 race at Doncaster, his second victory at that track in less than a year. Doncaster clearly suits him: he has won two of his four races there, a win rate that stands out against a career average of 17 percent. More telling still is what his trainer K. R. Burke said afterwards. On the soft, heavy ground that came up that day — the kind that many horses hate — Spycatcher looked transformed. Burke called him "a Group 1 horse on that ground," suggesting that in the right conditions, this eight-year-old is capable of competing at the very highest level, even if he would normally be considered a Group 3 horse (the third tier of top-class racing). The ground is everything for Spycatcher. He needs it wet and testing, the sort of day when the turf turns to churned mud. That is when his scrabbly, ungainly stride — which has caused him minor soundness issues over his career — becomes an asset rather than a hindrance.

His recent form hints at renewed life after what looked like a quiet spell. He was last in his race thirteen days ago, but bounced straight back to win at Doncaster, suggesting there is still plenty of fuel left in the tank. Jockey James Doyle rode him to victory with a thoughtful hand, following instructions not to push too hard if it was not happening — and it was happening. At eight years old, with five wins to his name and a yard full of fresher, sounder horses, Spycatcher remains a genuine threat whenever the forecast calls for rain and the racing takes him back to Doncaster.