Stans The Man

He races most comfortably at Class 4, which sits in the middle of the racing pyramid — not the elite end, but a long way from the bottom. At that level he has been outstanding, winning 7 of his 20 races there, which works out at roughly 1 in every 3. That is a serious win rate for any horse at any grade, and it tells you he belongs at that level and then some. His career started with a first win at Chepstow back in October 2022, and his most recent came at Wincanton in March — a track in Somerset, not far from where he is trained.

That training base is worth noting. Ella Pickard runs a small yard in Timberscombe, Somerset, and has sent out 5 winners already this season. Getting winners out regularly from a smaller operation takes real skill — there is no safety net of a huge string of horses to carry the numbers. The fact that Stans The Man contributes to those figures says something about the relationship between horse and trainer. His most trusted jockey is Ben Godfrey, who has ridden him 17 times and won on 5 of those — just under 1 in every 3 rides together, which is a strong partnership by any measure.

What makes his current profile particularly eye-catching is the recent form. Reading from his last run backwards: 7th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. That is a horse working its way steadily back toward the front. He raced just one day ago, so whatever that finishing position turns out to be, it will either extend a quietly building comeback or confirm he is knocking on the door again. For a nine-year-old with 39 races behind him, still racing, still placing, still interesting — Stans The Man is exactly the kind of horse a small yard builds its season around.