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Horse profile

Close Connection (IRE)

4yo gelding (at last run, Aug 2025) · Last trainer Michael Dods · Last owner M J K Dods
by Cracksman (GB) out of Too Familiar (IRE) (Clodovil)
8 runs · 7 courses · from Jun 2023
As at 21 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: GB, Ireland & France · 2005–present, updated daily
No run recorded since 12 Aug 2025 — 434 days ago. Our archive can't say whether the horse is still in training.
Last run Aug 2025 · 10th of 10 Won at Pontefract First-time headgear LTO Last raced off OR 62
KTB Profile

Close Connection won the Northern Commercials Iveco Driveaway Novice Stakes at Pontefract in Apr 2024 on heavy ground. The gelding, who was aged 4 at his last run in Aug 2025, has one win and one place from eight starts overall, all at Class 5 level. He recorded that success over 6f-7f and has never won on good ground or beyond 7f. His last run, at Carlisle in Aug 2025, was his first in first-time headgear and came off an official rating of 62, 14lb below his highest ever mark.

Based on 8 archived runs · run-style from 3 commented runs since Jun 2025 · updated 21 Oct 2026
KTB at a glance Win at Class 5 OR ↓ 14lb off peak
Official rating62↓ 14lb off peak
62 62–76

KTB Speed and Rating

KTB Speed

Best recent Speed 85 the best of the last 3 graded (A or B) runs · Chester, 14 Jun 2024

How fast the horse ran, as points against the day-corrected standard time for its course and distance: 100 is the median GB Class 4 handicap winner on that code; one point is 0.1% of the standard time. A, B or C is how much the day's card could tell us, not how good the run was. What this means →

Flat 8 figures · best 101A · median 72
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 21 Oct 2025
Good385A73—
Good to Soft1———
Standard (AW)1———
Soft1———
Heavy1———
Good to Firm1———
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 21 Oct 2025
6f – 7f6101A73.5—
1m – 1m1f271B67.5—

KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 8 figures from 8 runs · as at 3 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

KTB Rating

Best recent KTB Rating 62A the best of the last 3 rated runs · Newcastle (AW), 27 Jun 2025 Official rating 62 at the last run, 12 Aug 2025

What the horse achieved in each race, in pounds on the official-rating scale, from the weight carried, the lengths beaten and the race's own level solved across the archive — never the market, never the official rating as a starting point. The headline is the best of the horse's last three rated runs on that code. A, B or C on a run is how much known form was in that race. What this means →

Flat 8 figures · best 87A · median 62
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 21 Oct 2025
Good366A42—
Good to Soft1———
Standard (AW)1———
Soft1———
Heavy1———
Good to Firm1———
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 21 Oct 2025
6f – 7f687A64—
1m – 1m1f262A54.5—

KTB Rating v1 · batch 3 Oct 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 8 figures from 8 runs · as at 4 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

Both figures are KTB's own, computed from the archive; no vendor rating enters either. Every run's figure is on its form line below with its grade. Grades measure how much the archive could see, never the merit of the run.

Run style from 3 analysed runs since Jun 2025

  • Prominent 2 (67%) · 0 wins
  • Held up 1 (33%) · 0 wins

Pedigree intelligence

Sire
Cracksman (GB)

Progeny in our archive have won 11.6% of 1,787 runs since Jan 2008 (232 horses).

Strongest on heavy going: 16.5% from 103. Strongest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 16.3% from 264.

GoingRunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Good to Firm2302611.3%−0.30 from 1
Good4154811.6%00 from 3
Good to Soft2163214.8%+3.20 from 1
Soft2512811.2%−0.40 from 1
Heavy1031716.5%+4.91 from 1
Standard (AW)5725710%−1.60 from 1
Distance (all codes)RunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Under 6f47612.8%+1.2—
6f – 7f379338.7%−2.91 from 6
1m – 1m1f427419.6%−20 from 2
1m2f – 1m4f6097312%+0.4—
1m5f – 2m2644316.3%+4.7—
2m1f – 2m4f54916.7%+5.1—
2m5f – 3m7342.9%+31.3—

Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 20 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast

Dam
Too Familiar (IRE) (Clodovil)

2 siblings in the archive, 1 winner — best of them Unfamiliar (IRE) (1 win).

The wins came over 7f.

ProduceRunsWinsWin tripsBest grade
Unfamiliar (IRE)1217f—
Sultan Of Swing (AUT)50——

Record by conditions

GoingRunsWinsSR£1
Good 3 0 0% −3.00
Good to Soft 1 0 0% −1.00
Standard (AW) 1 0 0% −1.00
Soft 1 0 0% −1.00
Heavy 1 1 100% +12.00
Good to Firm 1 0 0% −1.00

ClassRunsWinsSR£1
Class 5 5 1 20% +8.00
Class 4 2 0 0% −2.00
Class 2 1 0 0% −1.00

CourseRunsWinsSR£1
Carlisle 2 0 0% −2.00
Ayr 1 0 0% −1.00
Newcastle (AW) 1 0 0% −1.00
Chester 1 0 0% −1.00
Haydock 1 0 0% −1.00
Pontefract 1 1 100% +12.00
Redcar 1 0 0% −1.00

DistanceRunsWinsSR£1
6f – 7f 6 1 17% +7.00
1m – 1m1f 2 0 0% −2.00

JockeyRunsWinsSR£1
Connor Beasley 5 1 20% +8.00
Clifford Lee 1 0 0% −1.00
Paul Mulrennan 1 0 0% −1.00
Phil Dennis 1 0 0% −1.00

HeadgearRunsWinsSR£1
None 7 1 14% +6.00
Cheekpieces 1 0 0% −1.00

SeasonRunsWinsSR£1
2025 3 0 0% −3.00
2024 3 1 33% +10.00
2023 2 0 0% −2.00

Splits include every sample, however small — muted rows are under 3 runs. A one-from-one record is a fact, not a trend: read the Runs column before the strike rate.

Form

DateCourseRace PosBtn Wgt ORSpdKTB Jockey SP
12 Aug 25+22d Carlisle pricedup.bet Handicap Class 5 · 6f · Good · 10 ran Sat close to pace early pulling hard - pushed along 2f out - dropped away inside final furlong to finish 10th 10/10 4¾ 9-8 6273B42A Connor Beasley 40/1
21 Jul 25+24d Ayr Book Ayr Gold Cup Tickets Now Handicap Class 5 · 8f · Good To Soft · 10 ran Held up eagerly early - sat just behind front group - asked for effort over 2f out - dropped away quickly and trailed home well beaten 9/10 11 9-1 6764C47C Clifford Lee 66/1
27 Jun 25+378d Newcastle (AW) JenningsBet In Pelton Handicap Class 4 · 8f · Standard · 14 ran Checked and eased across early - settled towards the rear - made no impact on the finish - came home well beaten in 11th 11/14 4 9-9 7071B62A Connor Beasley 50/1
14 Jun 24+20d Chester London Essence Handicap Class 4 · 7.5f · Good · 11 ran 7/11 ¾ 9-3 7485A66A Connor Beasley 18/1
25 May 24+53d Haydock Betfred Double Delight Edge Green Handicap Class 5 · 6f · Soft · 15 ran 9/15 1 9-10 7674C74A Paul Mulrennan 16/1
02 Apr 24+269d Pontefract Northern Commercials Iveco Driveaway Novice Stakes (GBB Race) Class 5 · 6f · Heavy · 9 ran 1/9 9-4 —101A87A Connor Beasley 12/1
08 Jul 23+14d Carlisle Diff-Ability 'Ability Over Disability' EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (GBB Race) Class 2 · 6f · Good To Firm · 10 ran 8/10 1¾ 9-4 —66A62A Connor Beasley 66/1
24 Jun 23 Redcar Download The Vickers.Bet App EBF Novice Stakes (GBB Race) Class 5 · 6f · Good · 13 ran 12/13 1¾ 9-4 —64C41C Phil Dennis 16/1

Quick answers

How many races has Close Connection (IRE) won?
Close Connection (IRE) won 1 of 8 archived starts between 2023 and 2025, a strike rate of 12.5%. Placed 1 time in total (12.5% of starts).
Who trained Close Connection (IRE)?
Close Connection (IRE) was trained by Michael Dods on the most recent run on record, at Carlisle on 12 August 2025.
Who is Close Connection (IRE)'s sire?
Close Connection (IRE) is by Cracksman (GB) out of Too Familiar (IRE), whose sire is Clodovil.
What is Close Connection (IRE)'s official rating?
The most recent official rating on record is 62, from the run on 12 August 2025. The highest on record is 76.
What is Close Connection (IRE)'s sire's record?
Cracksman (GB)'s progeny in our archive have won 11.6% of 1,787 runs since Jan 2008 (232 horses), Flat and jumps together. Strongest on heavy going: 16.5% from 103. Strongest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 16.3% from 264.
Who are Close Connection (IRE)'s siblings?
Out of Too Familiar (IRE), Close Connection (IRE) has 2 other produce in our archive, 1 of them a winner. Most wins: Unfamiliar (IRE) (1). The wins came over 7f. As at Oct 2026.

Record shown from June 2023. Our archive holds racing in Great Britain, Ireland and France from January 2005. Runs in other countries are not in it, and earlier runs are not available from our data provider. In-running comments are available from 2024 onward.