The Caltonian

What makes the Newcastle record even more striking is the quality of those wins. Two of them have come in Class 2 races — among the better races you'll find in Britain — on 1 January 2025 and again on 16 January 2026. Winning that level once could be a good day. Winning it twice, at the same venue, a year apart, suggests a horse that genuinely belongs at that level when the conditions align. The career has earned £74,000 in total, which confirms this is a horse mixing it at a decent standard rather than scraping around in lower-grade races.

That said, there's a real puzzle buried in the record. Step The Caltonian up to Class 3 races — technically one rung below Class 2 — and it has won precisely none of its 13 attempts. Zero from 13. How a horse can win at a higher level yet go blank at a slightly lower one is the kind of quirk that keeps racing fans up at night. The most likely explanation is that Class 2 races at Newcastle happen to be run on the all-weather surface there, in conditions that suit this horse perfectly, while those Class 3 efforts have come elsewhere or on different ground.

On normal ground conditions the record reads 7 wins from 21 races — exactly 1 in 3 — which again tells you this horse is at its best when everything clicks into place. Jockey Jonny Peate has been aboard for 12 of its races and has won 3 of them, a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides together — comfortably better than average. Trained by Linda Perratt out of East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, the yard has been in fine form this season with 19 winners sent out. The Caltonian last ran 51 days ago, so a short break is behind it. Whether it returns to Newcastle is the only question that really matters.