Walking On Air

Those two wins tell you something important about what this horse can do on his day. His first came at Newbury in January 2022, and his second was a Class 2 — one of the top tier of races in Britain — at Exeter the following year. Winning at that level isn't something ordinary horses manage. It suggests that when everything clicks for Walking On Air, he belongs in serious company.

The frustration is that he races most often at Class 3 level and has drawn a blank there — zero wins from six attempts. That's the puzzle with this horse: he has beaten better competition than the level he typically runs at. Faye Bramley, who trains him at Lambourn in Berkshire, has long felt there's more to come, describing him as a very big horse — and big horses, she has noted, tend to pick up trouble more easily. Her yard has been in excellent form this season, sending out 19 winners, so the support system around him is strong.

His most effective partnership has been with jockey Nico de Boinville, who has ridden him to both of his wins from just five races together — a remarkable 2 from 5, or 40%. That's the kind of chemistry that trainers notice. De Boinville himself has spoken warmly about the horse's ability to stay over longer distances, which hints that the best of Walking On Air may still be waiting to be unlocked under the right conditions. Recent form shows a second and a fourth in his last completed outings, so he's not disgracing himself — just not quite getting there.

He raced just yesterday, so he's very much still in the mix. At nine, time isn't unlimited, but Bramley clearly hasn't given up on him finding his moment again. For a horse with a Class 2 win on his record, getting back to that level would feel less like a surprise than a long-overdue homecoming.