The Hardest Geezer

The last six runs paint a frustrating picture for the yard: a second, two fourths, another second, and two more seconds. The Hardest Geezer finished second just a day ago, which means it's still racing hard and still occasionally getting close to the front. Its last win came all the way back on 8 January 2025, at Taunton — over a year ago now. For a horse winning one in every six races on average, a drought this long suggests something has shifted, whether form, fitness, or simple bad luck.

Where this horse does find its rhythm is over distance. At two miles and beyond, the record improves noticeably: 2 wins from 8 races, a 25% win rate. That's the type of statistic that catches a trainer's eye. Sean Houlihan, its regular jockey, has ridden it seven times for one win, roughly a 14% win rate — nothing spectacular, but consistent enough to keep the partnership going. The horse races for trainer Philip Hobbs & Johnson White's yard at Bilbrook in Somerset, a operation that has found the winners' circle 37 times already this season. The fact that The Hardest Geezer hasn't won in its last half-dozen races while the yard keeps winning elsewhere suggests this particular horse may be reaching the point where distance runners, especially aged 7, need either a meaningful break or a drop in grade to rediscover their feet.