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The Man

There is something quietly frustrating about watching The Man race. A 4-year-old trained by Richard Spencer out of Newmarket, this horse has plenty of ability — 2 wins and 3 places from 11 races tells you it knows how to compete — but lately it has been going through a rough patch that will be familiar to anyone who has ever backed a horse and watched it finish sixth instead of first.Based on TrackLab's AI analysis
Quick Facts
Age
4 years old
Sex
Gelding
Rating
94

📊 Key Numbers

Career statistics for this horse
11
Career races
2
Wins
18.2%
Win rate
avg ~10%
27.3%
Place rate (top 3)
avg ~30%
23 days
Since last race

🔍 Full Analysis

TrackLab's AI-generated assessment based on career data and recent form
TrackLab's Detailed Breakdown
Auto-Generated

The career started promisingly enough. A first win came at Southwell in April 2024, and then a second followed at York in May 2025, which is about as good a track as you can win at outside of the very top festivals. York is a big, sweeping, prestigious course, and winning there as a young horse is genuinely worth noting. The problem is that York win is now 11 months in the rear-view mirror, and since then The Man has gone 6 races without finding the winner's enclosure — finishing sixth, sixth, and eighth among those efforts. That is not a horse that has fallen apart, but it is a horse searching for form.

The numbers at the top level tell their own story. In 3 races at Class 1 — the highest tier of British racing — The Man has not won once. That is not unusual; Class 1 races are where the very best horses compete, and plenty of solid animals find that level one step too far. Winning roughly 1 in every 5 races overall (18%, or 2 from 11) is a respectable record across a career, but it does suggest this is a horse that is more comfortable when the bar is set slightly lower.

Richard Spencer's yard is having a productive season — 27 winners already — which means the team around The Man have the tools and the momentum to get horses back on track. Spencer operates from Newmarket, the spiritual home of British flat racing, and knowing how to place a horse — finding the right race on the right day — is very much part of what good Newmarket trainers do. The Man raced just 23 days ago and is still active, so another run is coming. Whether that brings a change of fortune or another near-miss, this is a horse with enough quality on its CV to suggest the story is not finished yet.

Strengths & Risks

What the data says works for and against this horse
⚠ What to watch out for
Poor record on good ground: 0 wins from 3 starts

🎯 Where This Horse Thrives

Performance broken down by ground, distance, class, and track type
🌧 Ground Conditions
Good to firm (drying out)
Standard to slow (all-weather)
Unknown
Standard (all-weather)
Unknown
Yielding (slightly soft)
Unknown
Good (firm-ish)
Avoids
📏 Race Distance
Sprint (< 5F)
Unknown
5F – 6½F
Ok
🏅 Competition Level
Class 1 (elite)
Avoids
Class 2 (high-level)
Unknown
Class 3 (mid-level)
Unknown
Class 4 (standard)
Unknown
🏟 Track Shape
Left-handed, long straights
Loves
Right-handed, hilly
Unknown
Right-handed, long straights
Unknown
Long straights
Avoids

📅 Recent Runs

The last 10 races, most recent first
6 Mar
6th
meydan
5f – 6½f · Good · 15 runners
20 Feb
6th
meydan
5f – 6½f · Good · 14 runners
23 Jan
DNF
meydan
5f – 6½f · Good · 11 runners
19 Dec
DNF
meydan
5f – 6½f · Yielding · 11 runners
21 Sep
8th
Southwell
Sprint (< 5f) · Standard_To_Slow · 14 runners
20 Aug
2nd
York
5f – 6½f · Good_To_Firm · 20 runners
16 May
🏆 Won
York
5f – 6½f · Good_To_Firm · 22 runners
24 Aug
8th
York
5f – 6½f · Good_To_Firm · 17 runners
31 Jul
14th
Goodwood
5f – 6½f · Good_To_Firm · 16 runners
20 Jun
12th
Ascot
5f – 6½f · Good_To_Firm · 14 runners

🏇 Jockey Partnerships

Every jockey who has ridden this horse, sorted by rides together
33.3%
Win rate
1/3
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/3
Won / Rode
Kieran Shoemark Current Jockey
50%
Win rate
1/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode

🏟 Track Record

Win rate at each course this horse has visited
CourseRacesResultsLast visitedWin rate
meydan 4 4 other 6 Mar 0%
York
Galloping
3 1 win, 1 second, 1 other 20 Aug 33.3%
Southwell
Galloping
2 1 win, 1 other 21 Sep 50%
Goodwood
Undulating
1 1 other 31 Jul 0%
Ascot
Galloping
1 1 other 20 Jun 0%