Never So Brave (2021) Horse

Foal Date

26-May-21

Colour

bay

Sire

No Nay Never

Dam

Chica Whopa

Prize Money

1175600

Trainer

A M Balding

Owners

Mr Saeed Suhail

About

Sandown R4 bet365 Mile (Group 2) – Never So Brave is a 5yo bay trained by A M Balding at Kingsclere. He is by No Nay Never out of Chica Whopa. To date he has recorded five victories. His biggest triumph came on 23 Aug 2025 at York, where he captured the $654,161 Cl1. The horse has been a rewarding selection for bettors; backing him throughout his career would have yielded a 20% ROI.

Raced At

Royal Ascot • Chester • Chelmsford City • Thirsk • Nottingham • Newmarket

Race Record

Event Summary	Runner Stats	Rank
Ascot 18-Oct-25 1610m GOOD R5 CL1 (of $1,137,402) Barrier 13, Winning Time: 01:38.350, SP: 7.00 1st Cicero's Gift ( J Watson 132 ) 2nd The Lion In Winter ( C Soumillon 129 ) 1.25L 3rd Alakazi ( B Coen 129 ) 0.30L 7th Never So Brave ( O Murphy 132 ) 4.75L See full results	O Murphy 59.9kg 4.75L	7 (16)
York 23-Aug-25 1410m GOOD R3 CL1 $377,122 (of $654,161) Barrier 7, Winning Time: 01:22.930, SP: 4.50 1st Never So Brave ( O Murphy 134 ) 2nd Lake Forest ( T Marquand 134 ) 0.50L 3rd Maranoa Charlie ( A Lemaitre 129 ) 0.20L See full results	O Murphy 60.8kg	1 (10)
Ascot 12-Jul-25 1600m GOOD R2 CL1 $79,394 (of $137,718) Barrier 7, Winning Time: 01:38.690, SP: 2.38 1st Never So Brave ( D Probert 129 ) 2nd Point Lynas ( J P Spencer 129 ) 0.75L 3rd Haatem ( S M Levey 129 ) 0.75L See full results	D Probert 58.5kg	1 (6)
Royal Ascot 19-Jun-25 1410m GOOD R7 CL2 Hcp $56,694 (of $108,207) Barrier 28, Winning Time: 01:23.900, SP: 5.00 Raced stands side, mid-division, going well when not much room over 2f out, gap opened on rail and closed over 1f out, led entering final furlong, soon clear, easily 1st Never So Brave ( O Murphy 138 ) 2nd Akkadian Thunder ( B Lee 128 ) 2.25L 3rd Holguin ( W Buick 133 ) 2.25L See full results	O Murphy 62.6kg	1 (27)
Chester 31-May-25 1410m GOOD R2 CL2 Hcp $12,085 (of $49,185) Barrier 6, Winning Time: 01:28.860, SP: 4.33 Wore red hood to post, chased leaders, raced keenly, not clear run briefly well over 1f out, soon pushed along and kept on, ridden in 3rd 110 yards out, stayed on and closing at finish 1st Myal ( D Egan 128 ) 2nd Never So Brave ( J Watson 134 ) 0.10L 3rd Holguin ( F Bugheniam 131 ) 0.75L See full results	J Watson 60.8kg 0.10L	2 (13)
Ascot 04-Oct-24 1210m SOFT R5 CL2 Hcp (of $44,266) Barrier 8, Winning Time: 01:15.540, SP: 3.75 Front rank, shaken up over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, no extra inside final furlong 1st Holkham Bay ( O Murphy 128 ) 2nd Garfield Shadow ( O J Orr 125 ) 0.15L 3rd Ferrous ( T Marquand 127 ) 1.25L 10th Never So Brave ( R L Moore 133 ) 6.00L See full results	R L Moore 60.3kg 6.00L	10 (10)
Chelmsford City 23-Aug-24 1410m GOOD R3 CL2 Hcp $9,824 (of $39,348) Barrier 1, Winning Time: 01:22.650, SP: 1.91 Tracked leaders, pushed along to chase winner over 1f out, switched right inside final furlong, kept on one pace 1st Ararat ( M Ghiani 121 ) 2nd Never So Brave ( C Shepherd 134 ) 1.50L 3rd Fair Point ( E Greatrex 121 ) 1.25L See full results	C Shepherd 60.8kg 1.50L	2 (5)
Chester 04-Aug-24 1410m SOFT R5 CL2 Hcp $225 (of $29,511) Barrier 6, Winning Time: 01:27.630, SP: 2.63 Midfield on inner, ridden and some headway when hampered over 1f out, stayed on same pace inside final furlong 1st Yanifer ( O Mcsweeney 131 ) 2nd Paws For Thought ( F Norton 126 ) 1.25L 3rd Topanga ( J Watson 122 ) 0.20L 7th Never So Brave ( S Osborne 137 ) 2.75L See full results	S Osborne 62.1kg 2.75L	7 (11)
Royal Ascot 22-Jun-24 1410m GOOD R4 $2,025 (of $85,065), Winning Time: 01:26.850, SP: 8/1 Keen prominent, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace 1st Haatem ( J Doyle 132 ) 2nd Kikkuli ( O Murphy 129 ) 0.15L 3rd Chicago Critic ( B M Coen 129 ) 1.00L 6th Never So Brave ( S Osborne 129 ) 4.25L See full results	S Osborne 58.5kg 4.25L	6 (19)
Chester 09-May-24 1520m GOOD R3 CL2 Hcp $22,932 (of $44,266) Barrier 3, Winning Time: 01:32.920, SP: 2.00 Led early, tracked leader, switched right over 1f out, pushed along to lead approaching final furlong, ran on, readily 1st Never So Brave ( R L Moore 132 ) 2nd Witness Stand ( D Tudhope 135 ) 2.00L 3rd Dashing Darcey ( J Doyle 125 ) 0.30L See full results	R L Moore 59.9kg	1 (7)
Thirsk 21-Apr-24 1410m SOFT R3 CL5 Md $4,320 (of $7,869) Barrier 2, Winning Time: 01:31.490, SP: 1.73 Bit keen in behind leaders, made challenge going best over 1f out, ridden and went clear inside final furlong, readily 1st Never So Brave ( S Osborne 129 ) 2nd Ghaihaban ( J Watson 124 ) 4.00L 3rd Swift Storm ( S D Sousa 129 ) 1.50L See full results	S Osborne 58.5kg	1 (12)
Nottingham 21-Jul-23 1220m SOFT R1 CL5 Md $1,736 (of $6,738) Barrier 10, Winning Time: 01:16.120, SP: 3.00 Tracked leaders, led 2f out, pushed along and headed entering final furlong, stayed on 1st Vandeek ( A Atzeni 133 ) 2nd Never So Brave ( H Davies 133 , Cd 136 ) 0.75L 3rd Alaskan Gold ( C Lee 133 ) 4.00L See full results	H Davies 60.3kg, Cd 61.7kg 0.75L	2 (11)
Newmarket 24-Jun-23 1410m GOOD R1 CL4Nv $2,028 (of $8,000) Barrier 3, Winning Time: 01:26.620, SP: 11.00 Close up in rear, pushed along and headway approaching final furlong, ridden to chase winner inside final furlong, kept on 1st Ancient Wisdom ( J Doyle 136 ) 2nd Never So Brave ( R Clutterbuck 130 ) 1.75L 3rd Travolta ( A J Farragher 130 ) 2.00L See full results	R Clutterbuck 59kg 1.75L	2 (6)