Ventura Express

Ventura Express belongs to Paul Midgley's Westow yard in North Yorkshire, a stable that has sent out 39 winners this season and clearly knows how to extract value from a horse like this. The trainer describes him as "fantastic" and worth his weight in gold — high praise in an industry where sentiment rarely matches the spreadsheet. Midgley has identified exactly what makes this horse work: a stiff five-furlong sprint at a proper gallop. When the pace is genuine and the ground favours his style, Ventura Express delivers. His last win came at Beverley on 5 July 2024, and he has raced at that track six times for two victories — the sign of a course that suits him. His jockey partner David Nolan rides him regularly and wins at a healthy 17 per cent with him (2 wins from 12 races), suggesting they know each other's rhythm.

The hard truth is that Ventura Express has not won in six races and last raced just a day ago without finding the line first. At nine years old, and with recent form reading fifth, fourth, sixth, fourth, fourth, fifth, he is running without success in what must be the twilight of his career. Yet he keeps turning up, keeps running with apparent heart, and keeps collecting places. In a racing world obsessed with potential and future brilliance, a horse like this — useful, honest, and still fighting at nine — commands a different kind of respect.