Shares are available with Deva Racing in the five-year-old Kodiac gelding Come On John. The four-time winner is set to be trained by James Owen in Newmarket. 

A £20,000 breeze-up purchase earlier in his career, Come On John was unraced at two but quickly made up for lost time as a three-year-old. After gaining initial experience in maiden and novice company, he was beaten a short-head in a 1m Redcar handicap on just his second start in that sphere. 

He was turned out again at Thirsk just a week later and careered away to win by three lengths, despite being harried by a loose horse at a crucial stage, doing so from an official rating of 65. Raised 8lb for that success, he continued to run well for most of the 2022 season, going on to change yards shortly before Christmas that year. 

Despite enduring a lean spell for new connections early in 2023, Come On John came roaring back to form to win a 1m½f handicap at Wolverhampton in May of last year, then won again over 1m2f at Brighton just over a fortnight later. 

Those two successes took his handicap mark back up to 65 and a spell in the doldrums followed, but he was again in the winner’s enclosure at Wolverhampton (1m1½f) in November 2023. 

That proved to be Come On John’s most recent success but he looks primed to get his career back on track for Deva Racing and James Owen, with several factors pointing to an upturn in fortunes.

He began this year rated 59 but now possesses turf and all-weather ratings of just 46. He is equally adept on either surface, and has demonstrated strong form at 1m or 1m2f, and everywhere in between – he even ran creditably over 1m4f on his most recent start. Although the 2024 season has been largely a disappointment, he proved the fire still burns when a narrow third from a mark of 56 at Lingfield in May. There is plenty for the team to work with.

Furthermore, he has joined a trainer with a proven track-record at getting the best out of lowly rated horses. Fellow Deva Racing representative, Destinado, was rated just 45 when debuting for the Owen yard in January of this year. Six wins have followed and he improved his rating by an astonishing 28lbs.

It might be asking a lot for Come On John to emulate that level of progress, but it was not so long ago that he was rated stones above his current mark, and he has done more than enough in recent starts to indicate that plenty of ability remains. Please get in touch for more details.