The Kemble Brewery

The back story makes that record even more remarkable. After winning at Huntingdon in April 2023 and then taking a top-level Class 2 race at Cheltenham in October of that year — one of the biggest tracks in Britain — the horse suffered a serious tendon injury at Cheltenham that, according to trainer Kim Bailey, left it within millimetres of never racing again. The owners, who run a pub in Cheltenham, showed enormous patience through what must have been an anxious wait. When The Kemble Brewery came back, it won again — at Ffos Las in November 2024 — which is its most recent victory, now 17 months ago.

That is the complication. The recent form reads 3-1-1-2 from four runs, then two blanks, and the horse has not been seen on a track for five months. At seven years old, it is in the prime of its career, but there are questions to answer on return. Bailey has been refreshingly candid about the horse's personality: enormously talented, but so laid-back it can frustrate everyone around it. His description of a horse that would "drive you demented" if it were human captures something genuine — there is ability there, but whether it switches on is another matter entirely.

The yard itself is in strong form, with 31 winners already this season, and regular jockey Tom Bellamy has a solid 40% win rate aboard this horse specifically — 2 wins from 5 rides together, which is a meaningful partnership. Bailey has talked about stepping up in grade after Ffos Las, suggesting the team believes there is more to come. Whether The Kemble Brewery agrees, and agrees promptly, is the question that makes it genuinely interesting to watch.