Never So Brave is the top-rated runner in today's Criterion Stakes Group 3 at York and carries what the expert view describes as clear excuses for both runs this season. Back to seven furlongs on a sound surface without a penalty — conditions that should allow him to show something much closer to his best. Andrew Balding's yard at 21% over 14 days, Oisin Murphy booked. At 11/8, he is today's NAP.
Top-Rated and Unexposed at His Best
The expert view's opening line is unambiguous: comfortably our top-rated runner. In a Group 3 at York, that designation carries real weight. Never So Brave's OR of 115 reflects what the form book says he has achieved at his best — and his best form has not been seen this season. Both runs in 2026 have come with specific, identifiable reasons why they did not reflect his ability.
The Two Excuses — Both Explained
His form reads 1-1-7---5-5 and the two 5s at the end represent this season's disappointing efforts. The expert view addresses both directly.
Run one this season — a reappearance run at a longer trip where he failed to settle. A horse who races too keenly over a distance beyond his optimum is burning energy he needs for the finish. The result — fifth — reflected a horse in the wrong tactical situation, not a horse who had lost his ability. Settling is a learnable skill and a horse who fails to settle on reappearance at a new trip has not shown anything definitive about his ceiling.
Run two — Epsom last time on soft ground. The expert view is specific: soft ground at Epsom was the problem. His form before this season includes two wins — the 1-1 at the start of that sequence — and nothing in that winning form suggests soft ground is suitable. Running on an unsuitable surface at Epsom, a uniquely demanding track, is a combination capable of stopping almost any horse from showing their true form.
Both excuses are specific, identifiable, and independently verifiable. They are not vague — not "unlucky in running" or "seemed not to handle the track" — but concrete: wrong trip on reappearance, wrong ground last time. Today both problems are resolved simultaneously.
Why Today Is Different
Back to 7f — the trip where he has won twice, both at a high level. Good ground at York — the sound surface his best form has come on. No penalty — he runs off his OR of 115 without any additional weight for a recent win, because he has not won recently. Every variable that went wrong in both season runs has been corrected for today.
The expert view's conclusion is measured rather than extravagant: he should be much closer to his best. That is not a promise. It is the logical assessment of a horse whose conditions today match the form profile that produced his wins.
York — The Right Track
York's Knavesmire is one of the finest Flat tracks in Britain — wide, galloping, and fair. Seven furlongs at York over the straight course is a genuine test of speed and stamina in balance. It is precisely the kind of track where a horse who settles well and has a turn of foot can show what it is capable of without the specialist demands of Epsom's unique geometry that cost him last time.
The Criterion Stakes Group 3 is worth £56,710 to the winner — a valuable summer prize on one of the season's most prestigious tracks. The quality of the race is high. Never So Brave is, according to the form book, the best horse in it — running on the conditions that suit him.
Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy
Andrew Balding's Kingsclere yard is running at 21% over the last 14 days — 13 winners from 61 runners. That is a strong and sustained rate from one of Britain's most consistent operations. We saw Balding send out Kalpana in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot just over a week ago. The yard is in excellent form heading into this summer programme.
Oisin Murphy rides — the same jockey who partnered Kalpana at Royal Ascot. Murphy's bookings have been among the most informative signals of the past fortnight. When Murphy takes the ride for a Balding horse on a course and trip that suits, the combination has produced results. Today it is assembled again for a horse the form book rates as the best in the race.
The Bottom Line
Top-rated runner in the Criterion Stakes Group 3. Clear excuses for both season runs — wrong trip on reappearance, soft ground at Epsom last time. Back to 7f on good ground without a penalty. Conditions today resolve every problem the season has produced. Andrew Balding at 21% over 14 days. Oisin Murphy booked. At 11/8, Never So Brave is today's NAP — back to win.
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