Water Of Leith

Jim Goldie's yard at Uplawmoor in Lanarkshire has had a strong season by any measure — 88 winners and counting — and Water Of Leith has been a reliable part of that picture. Goldie is known as a trainer who keeps older, consistent horses ticking over at the right level, and this horse is a textbook example of that approach working well. The partnership with jockey Paul Mulrennan has been a particularly productive one: riding together 31 times, they have won 5 of those races, a win rate of around 1 in 6. In jump racing terms that would be decent; in flat racing, where the margins are tighter and the fields larger, it is genuinely good.

Ground conditions matter with Water Of Leith, and the numbers are telling. On normal ground, the record reads 4 wins from 15 races — winning more than 1 in every 4, which is excellent. On fast, dry ground, it holds up too: 2 wins from 10 races, or 1 in every 5. Wet or muddy ground, by contrast, has never brought out the best. If the forecast matters to you, a dry track is your friend here.

Carlisle is worth flagging — 2 wins from just 5 races at the track suggests a horse that genuinely takes to the place, whether it is the shape of the course or the surface, something suits. The first career win came there back in July 2022, so there is a long-standing connection with the track that the record backs up.

Most recently, Water Of Leith won at Wolverhampton just three weeks ago and raced again only yesterday, which speaks to both fitness and the confidence the team clearly have in the horse right now. At eight years old, with form this consistent and a win that fresh, this is not a horse winding down — it is one very much still in business.