B Associates is a five-year-old War Command gelding who has recently rejoined Newmarket trainer James Owen and Deva Racing following a spell with another yard. He has already won eight times during his career and looks handicapped to win again soon.

Foaled in March 2020, he is the best runner out of the placed Invincible Spirit mare Spirit Of The Sea, who is in turn a three-parts-sister to the Gr.3 Bahrain Trophy winner Corsica.

Originally based with Jim Goldie in Scotland, B Associates gained plenty of useful experience as a two-year-old and went on to win four times in five starts over six or seven furlongs during the summer of his three-year-old campaign. Another win would follow before the end of that season, catapulting him to a peak official rating of 73.

He went on to win once for Iain Jardine over six furlongs at Carlisle in June of 2024 before being picked up shrewdly by the Deva Racing team and joining the James Owen stable. Debuting for the yard in a Class 5 handicap over 6f at Yarmouth last August, he was held up at the back of the field before slicing through his rivals to win going away. He was winning from a mark of 62 at Yarmouth and would go on to score again over the same trip at Wolverhampton two starts later.

By now rated 71, an improvement of 9lb in less than three weeks, B Associates left the Owen yard and Deva’s ownership following an excellent fourth in a competitive Chester handicap. It was an exceptional bit of business by all concerned, as he had already collected more than his purchase price in prizemoney, and was then sold on at a profit.

B Associates struggled to make any impact in nine starts for the new yard but consequently rejoins the Owen team with a career-low rating of 52. That is 16lb below his peak winning mark and 19lb below the rating he held when switching stables nine months ago. James is renowned for improving horses that arrive from other stables, and he has already proven his ability to get the best out of this particular individual, so there is every reason to believe he will do so again.

Effective from six to seven furlongs, on turf and the all-weather, and quick ground and much softer, it is a pleasure to welcome the tough, consistent and versatile B Associates back into the Deva Racing fold. We are sure that he will be winning races again in the near future.