The Kalooki Kid

Overall, The Kalooki Kid has won 4 races from 17 — that's roughly 1 in every 4 — with another 8 placed finishes thrown in. That's a horse that keeps turning up, runs honestly, and earns its keep without being a headline act. It's trained by Nicky Richards at Greystoke in Cumbria, a yard that has been in fine form this season with 33 winners already sent out. Jockey Danny McMenamin has been the regular partner, and the numbers between them are genuinely good: 4 wins from 13 races together, meaning McMenamin is winning nearly 1 in 3 of his rides on the horse — a figure that tells you they suit each other well.

The recent form needs a little explaining. Reading right to left — because racing form works backwards — the sequence goes win, then eighth, fourth, fifth, sixth, and a blank. That last result was just yesterday, so The Kalooki Kid is very much in active service. But that winning run at Musselburgh in February 2025 now sits 14 months back, and the runs since suggest the horse hasn't quite found that level again yet. Whether it can rediscover its best form, particularly back on its favourite track, is the interesting question. A horse that has shown it can beat good competition on a specific course, with a jockey it clearly clicks with, is never entirely out of the picture — it just needs the right day.