Special John (IRE)
Special John is a gelding who has won three of 13 starts, all at Class 5 level in handicaps. His wins came at Bangor-on-Dee in May 2026 over 2m5f – 3m on good, at Wincanton in Dec 2025 over 3m on good to soft, and at Exeter in Nov 2025 over 2m5f – 3m on good to soft. Typically held up, he finished 7 of 7 at Market Rasen in Jul 2026 when last raced off his career-high mark of 112 and was beaten favourite.
- 3–13Wins / Runs
- 23.1%Strike rate
- 5 (38.5%)Placed
- −4.62£1 level staken=13 at SP
- 0.83Fair A/E n=13 · 0.71 incl. margin
- 112Highest OR
- 44dAvg between runs
A/E compares actual wins with what starting prices implied. "Fair" strips the bookmaker margin from the expectation, so favourites and longshots are judged on the same footing — figures near 1.00 mean the market priced this horse about right.
KTB Speed and Rating
Best recent Speed 104
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 →
| Going | Runs | Best | Median | Since 18 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 5 | 103B | 80 | 4 · 103 / 77 |
| Good to Soft | 4 | 120B | 93.5 | 2 · 104 / 91 |
| Soft | 2 | 107C | 92.5 | 1 · — |
| Good to Firm | 1 | — | — | — |
| Distance | Runs | Best | Median | Since 18 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2m5f – 3m | 7 | 128B | 104 | 3 · 104 / 103 |
| Over 3m | 4 | 80C | 78 | 4 · 80 / 78 |
| 2m1f – 2m4f | 1 | — | — | — |
Of 13 runs looked at, 1 has no figure: obstacles omitted — the race ran a shortened course (1).
KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 12 figures from 13 runs · as at 3 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 6 analysed runs
- Held up 4 (67%) · 2 wins
- Led 1 (17%) · 0 wins
- Prominent 1 (17%) · 0 wins
Pedigree intelligence
Progeny in our archive have won 11.3% of 5,807 runs since Jan 2008 (678 horses).
Weakest on standard (aw) going: 6.5% from 336. Weakest over 1m – 1m1f (all codes): 3.2% from 249.
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | 1 | 1 | 100% | +88.7 | — |
| Good to Firm | 80 | 16 | 20% | +8.7 | 0 from 1 |
| Good | 1,519 | 186 | 12.2% | +0.9 | 1 from 5 |
| Good to Soft | 1,210 | 133 | 11% | −0.3 | 2 from 5 |
| Soft | 1,885 | 214 | 11.4% | +0.1 | 0 from 2 |
| Heavy | 776 | 86 | 11.1% | −0.2 | — |
| Standard (AW) | 336 | 22 | 6.5% | −4.8 | — |
| Distance (all codes) | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 6f | 3 | 0 | 0% | −11.3 | — |
| 6f – 7f | 71 | 8 | 11.3% | 0 | — |
| 1m – 1m1f | 249 | 8 | 3.2% | −8.1 | — |
| 1m2f – 1m4f | 493 | 64 | 13% | +1.7 | — |
| 1m5f – 2m | 1,570 | 192 | 12.2% | +0.9 | — |
| 2m1f – 2m4f | 1,961 | 200 | 10.2% | −1.1 | 0 from 1 |
| 2m5f – 3m | 1,224 | 153 | 12.5% | +1.2 | 2 from 8 |
| Over 3m | 236 | 33 | 14% | +2.7 | 1 from 4 |
Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 17 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast
5 siblings in the archive, 3 winners — best of them Rioga Choice (IRE) (1 win).
The wins came over 2m–2m4f; the highest grade won is Class 5 (Kates Choice (IRE)).
| Produce | Runs | Wins | Win trips | Best grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rioga Choice (IRE) | 10 | 1 | 2m | — |
| Its Gonnahappen (IRE) | 4 | 1 | 2m | — |
| Kates Choice (IRE) | 15 | 1 | 2m4f | Class 5 |
| My Uncas (IRE) | 9 | 0 | — | — |
| Royal Tiara (IRE) | 4 | 0 | — | — |
Record by conditions
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 5 | 1 | 20% | −1.00 |
| Good to Soft | 5 | 2 | 40% | −0.62 |
| Soft | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Good to Firm | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Class | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 5 | 7 | 3 | 43% | +1.38 |
| Class 4 | 4 | 0 | 0% | −4.00 |
| Class 3 | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Course | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | 3 | 1 | 33% | −1.00 |
| Wincanton | 2 | 1 | 50% | +0.38 |
| Market Rasen | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Fontwell | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Bangor-on-Dee | 1 | 1 | 100% | +3.00 |
| Windsor | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Stratford | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Southwell | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Doncaster | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Uttoxeter | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Distance | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2m5f – 3m | 8 | 2 | 25% | −2.00 |
| Over 3m | 4 | 1 | 25% | −1.62 |
| 2m1f – 2m4f | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Griffiths | 5 | 1 | 20% | −1.00 |
| Dylan Johnston | 3 | 2 | 67% | +1.38 |
| Callum Pritchard | 3 | 0 | 0% | −3.00 |
| James Davies | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Headgear | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 12 | 3 | 25% | −3.62 |
| Cheekpieces | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Season | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 1 | 17% | −2.00 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | 29% | −2.62 |
| Type | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | 7 | 3 | 43% | +1.38 |
| Hurdle | 6 | 0 | 0% | −6.00 |
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
| Date | Course | Race | Pos | Btn | Wgt | OR | Spd | KTB | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jul 26+38d | Market Rasen | Betway Boosts Handicap Steeple Chase (GBB Race) raced in the pack - veered left at the 8th - shared command at the 11th - overtaken 4 out and lost ground before 3 out | 7/7 | 31 | 12-2 | 112 | 69C | 110C | Matt Griffiths | 9/4F |
| 10 Jun 26+25d | Fontwell | Weatherbys Racing Bank Handicap Chase (GBB Race) Contested front spot early - then dropped to track leader - hit front 5th - urged on after two out - driven out after last but caught close home | 2/4 | shd | 12-0 | 110 | 74C | 122C | Matt Griffiths | 11/8F |
| 16 May 26+34d | Bangor-on-Dee | Classic Additions Handicap Chase Settled close to the pace early - hit the front after the 2nd - lost that spot before the 4th - back in charge after the 11th - opened a big margin from 4 out - urged on after an awkward jump 2 out - wandered left approaching the final fence - gap narrowed on the run-in - stayed on strongly to score | 1/10 | 11-13 | 103 | 103B | 132A | Matt Griffiths | 3/1F | |
| 12 Apr 26+26d | Wincanton | Visit Bridles Care Home Wincanton Handicap Chase (GBB Race) Settled towards the back early - improved into second by the 17th - pressed for effort after 3 out but couldn't match the winner - stayed on without threatening to finish second | 2/3 | 4½ | 11-2 | 104 | 80C | 112C | Matt Griffiths | 4/7F |
| 17 Mar 26+58d | Exeter | Oddschecker Handicap Hurdle Set the pace early - urged on approaching 3 out and lost the advantage 2 out - dropped away rapidly after the last | 5/17 | 8 | 11-9 | 95 | 104B | 109A | Matt Griffiths | 9/4F |
| 18 Jan 26+45d | Windsor | Fitzdares Personal Betting Service Stayers Handicap Chase (GBB Race) Handy early - hit the front before 4 out then lost command 2 out - couldn't find more after the last | 5/16 | 1½ | 10-12 | 105 | 78B | 113A | Dylan Johnston | 9/4F |
| 04 Dec 25+17d | Wincanton | Lenny Roberts Memorial Trophy Handicap Chase Sat close behind the front group - stumbled on touching down at the 17th - scratchy over the next - driven to the front after three out - challenged approaching the last two - met the final fence cleanly and stayed on strongly to win | 1/11 | 12-0 | 100 | 78A | 136A | Dylan Johnston | 11/8F | |
| 17 Nov 25+193d | Exeter | Heart Of Oak, Exeter Novices' Handicap Chase Settled behind the front group - moved into second 4 out - pressed the pace before 3 out - kicked in front after 2 out - repelled a strong rival past the last - got the verdict in a driving finish | 1/10 | 11-4 | 93 | — | 122A | Dylan Johnston | EvensF | |
| 08 May 25+46d | Stratford | Solidcam UK Partner Novices' Limited Handicap Hurdle (Div 1) Settled just behind the front-runner - pushed the pace from four out before a mistake and needing urging after two out - stayed on for second | 2/4 | 14 | 11-7 | 93 | 99C | 97C | Callum Pritchard | 5/2 |
| 23 Mar 25+6d | Exeter | Harcombe Handicap Hurdle Went straight to front - clouted 7th - lost advantage 3 out - drifted left in closing stages unable to threaten leader | 2/6 | 4¼ | 11-5 | 91 | 128B | 120B | Callum Pritchard | 6/5F |
| 17 Mar 25+16d | Southwell | Enjoy The Racing App For Free Novices' Limited Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle Shared front spot early - moved clear before 9th - pushed along and matched by rival 2 out - still in contention approaching last - battled through the run-in before being overtaken close home | 2/9 | 4 | 11-11 | 91 | 120B | 119A | Callum Pritchard | 3/1F |
| 01 Mar 25+21d | Doncaster | LiveScore Bet Best Odds Daily Maiden Hurdle (GBB Race) Held up in midfield - driven and lost touch entering the home bend - stayed on from two out - finished fourth well beaten | 4/12 | 18 | 11-7 | — | 83C | 101C | James Davies | 28/1 |
| 08 Feb 25 | Uttoxeter | QuinnBet Novices' Hurdle (GBB Race) Went straight to front - pressed for effort and lost command before 3 out then dropped away rapidly - well beaten by the last | 4/6 | 38 | 11-0 | — | 107C | 102C | James Davies | 16/1 |
Quick answers
- How many races has Special John (IRE) won?
- Special John (IRE) won 3 of 13 archived starts between 2025 and 2026, a strike rate of 23.1%. Placed 5 times in total (38.5% of starts).
- Who trains Special John (IRE)?
- Special John (IRE) is trained by Sam Thomas, who saddled the horse on its most recent run on 18 July 2026.
- Who is Special John (IRE)'s sire?
- Special John (IRE) is by Soldier Of Fortune (IRE) out of Royal Choice (IRE), whose sire is King's Theatre.
- What going does Special John (IRE) prefer?
- Special John (IRE) has the best record on good to soft going: 2 wins from 5 starts (40%). Only going bands with at least three archived starts are read, so this is a direction rather than a settled preference.
- What is Special John (IRE)'s official rating?
- The most recent official rating on record is 112, from the run on 18 July 2026. That is also the highest on record.
- What is Special John (IRE)'s sire's record?
- Soldier Of Fortune (IRE)'s progeny in our archive have won 11.3% of 5,807 runs since Jan 2008 (678 horses), Flat and jumps together. Weakest on standard (aw) going: 6.5% from 336. Weakest over 1m – 1m1f (all codes): 3.2% from 249.
- Who are Special John (IRE)'s siblings?
- Out of Royal Choice (IRE), Special John (IRE) has 5 other produce in our archive, 3 of them winners. Most wins: Rioga Choice (IRE) (1). Highest grade won: Class 5 (Kates Choice (IRE)). The wins came over 2m–2m4f. As at Oct 2026.