The Highway Rat

The most compelling thing about The Highway Rat is what happens when he turns up at Navan. He has won 2 of his 4 races there, which is an extraordinary hit rate — half his visits to that track have ended in a winner's enclosure. Compare that to his overall record and you can see instantly that Navan brings out something in him. His most recent win came there on 17 May 2025, and his jockey Billy Lee was refreshingly candid about it afterwards: he said the horse was entitled to win a race like that on the strength of his all-weather form, and that while the runner-up came to him and made him work, he was always comfortable. That is a horse who knows his job.

The partnership with Lee is worth noting. In 11 races together they have won 3 times — that is 27%, or just over 1 in every 4, which is a far stronger return than The Highway Rat's overall 14% record with other riders. It suggests the combination clicks in a way that matters.

The Highway Rat has not won in his last six races, and his recent form — a mix of mid-pack finishes and a single placed effort — suggests he is working his way back to his best rather than operating at it right now. Andy Oliver hinted at some physical fragility last autumn, noting the horse had come out of a run at Naas feeling jarred, which forced an unexpected break. Oliver also said back when this horse was a three-year-old that sprinters tend to improve and that he was one to look forward to — and to his credit, The Highway Rat has kept delivering at his level for five more years since. Whether another win at Navan is coming, only time will tell, but the course record alone makes him worth watching whenever he heads there.