Squealer

Across 30 races, Squealer has won 4 times and placed on 10 other occasions — a win rate of around 1 in every 7 or 8 races, which is modest on paper. But context matters. He has spent most of his career competing at Class 2 level, which is among the best racing in Britain, and that demands something from a horse every single time. His record on normal ground tells a more interesting story: 4 wins from 17 races, meaning he wins almost 1 in every 4 when conditions suit him. When the ground is soft or slow, those numbers disappear entirely — Tinkler is clear that he simply needs fast, dry ground to be at his best.

His regular jockey Rowan Scott, who has ridden him in 22 of his 30 races, describes an intriguing horse to manage. Squealer is not a front-runner who bludgeons his rivals — he has what Scott calls "an electric turn of foot," a sudden burst of speed that can appear from nowhere in the final stretch. The trick is persuading him to switch off in the early part of the race, saving that energy for when it counts. When it clicks, as it did at York in June, the effect is striking. Tinkler notes that the horse beaten into second that day has since gone on to win at Epsom, which means the form from Squealer's victory looks increasingly strong.

He has not won in his last six races, and his recent finishing positions — eighth, fifth, thirteenth — suggest a horse that has hit something of a ceiling for now. Tinkler puts some of that down to an unfavourable draw in recent races and a handicapper who has taken note of his York win and adjusted his weights accordingly. The plan is to return to York for the final meeting of the season, on ground he likes, at a course where he clearly thrives. Tinkler adds he will not travel to Bahrain again after a difficult trip abroad last year. For Squealer, it seems, home is where the wins are.