Striking A Pose

Exeter is where Striking A Pose comes alive. He has won 2 of his 6 races there — that's 1 in every 3, which is a dramatically better return than anywhere else on his record — and trainer Joe Tizzard has been open about it: the horse simply loves the place. His first career win came there in November 2021, and the yard has kept coming back. When the ground is wet and soft, he improves again, winning 2 from 10 on that surface — double his overall rate. Conditions and course clearly matter far more to this horse than they do to most.

Most of Striking A Pose's races have come at Class 3 level, one step below the very top tier, and he has won just 1 of 17 at that grade. That tells you the competition at his usual level is stiff, and the trainer has acknowledged the handicapper has caught up with him — meaning the weights he has to carry have increased as the authorities try to level the playing field. His most regular partner, Brendan Powell, has ridden him 17 times for just the 1 win, which reflects just how hard it has been to find the winning formula consistently.

What keeps the interest alive is that Striking A Pose is still very much in training and racing — he ran just yesterday — and he won as recently as two months ago at Newton Abbot in April 2026. The yard, based in Dorset and in good form with 52 winners already this season, clearly still believes there are races to be won with him. At his best, Tizzard has described him as a horse with a bit of class about him, not short of speed, and with his ears pricked the whole way round — a horse that travels through a race with confidence. When Exeter comes around again on soft ground, he will be worth watching.