Racehorses can improve at any age and for a variety of reasons, yet the progress shown by Jacquelina has owner Trevor Johnson and trainer Phil McEntee somewhat stumped.

The five-year-old mare had a rating of just 54 when she confounded connections’ expectations by winning on heavy ground at Windsor in early May. Over the next month she won a further four times from five starts, finishing second in her other race as her mark rocketed to 82, igniting dreams of black type.

For Johnson, 72, who entered the ownership ranks after a winning run at the poker table, Jacquelina’s story has added significance. The retired florist named her in memory of his wife, Jacqueline, who passed away in September 2021.

He explains: “I had a horse called Gentlemen who sadly died one evening at Chelmsford. In 2022, Phil phoned me to say that the breeder of Gentlemen, Nicola Kent, had a three-year-old filly out of his dam’s sister for sale. I agreed to buy her.

“When she won her first race at Chepstow in June last year, I wasn’t planning to go but Phil said he thought she would win. It was a very emotional moment.

“My wife’s name was Jacqueline – that name was available – but I used to call her Jacquelina if I wanted something! It sounded like a better name for a racehorse.”

Johnson continues: “She didn’t do too much else in 2023 but won at Wolverhampton earlier this year.

“When she ran on heavy ground at Windsor, Phil said she wasn’t at full fitness – he said she couldn’t win and might be tailed off as she would hate the ground! She won that and then the sequence went on and on.

“Jacquelina won a further four times in four weeks. In her last race at Chepstow, she was saddled with 10st 7lb, having been beaten the day before at Thirsk, and still won by three and a half lengths!”

Improving 28lb – or 2st – is no mean feat for any runner. So how has the trainer explained the rapid progress to his owner?

“He hasn’t!” Johnson says. “But I remember Phil phoning me in January to say that Jacquelina is the best horse I own – I currently have six in training with him – because he thought she was an 80 horse. He said he could feel the power when he sat on her in the stable.

“She used to be a bad traveller – if there was another horse in the box, she would kick all the way to the races. If she travels on her own, she’s quiet.

“Jacquelina is having a holiday now, certainly for a few weeks. She’s won on good to firm and heavy but is perhaps better on softer ground. I think she could get black type on testing going.

“You do see horses that have been plotted rising up the handicap, but very rarely with a mare like her.”

Johnson’s black and red silks – he initially ran horses under the Eventmaker banner before racing under his own name in 2017 – have also been carried with success by the like of Porfin and Alafdhal. The owner enjoys betting on his horses but has been heavily restricted by some bookmakers online.

He says: “I’d rather lose £100 than see my horse win and not have a penny on them. Having a bet is important to me as an owner.

“At one point every account I had was closed down. One account was closed after I had a bet on a horse that was backed from 8-1 to 3-1 – it wasn’t even placed!

“Now I bet in shops and actually find it easier. You get to know the staff and I can usually get £50 on each-way. It seems to have changed for the better recently.”

Born and bred in Coventry, Johnson played golf professionally for a few years in his youth. His father’s company, stationary firm Tallon, sponsored the shirts of Coventry City FC between 1983 and 1984.

When Coventry beat Spurs 3-2 in the 1987 FA Cup Final, Johnson – he is still a director in holding company Zintello – and his staff at Tallon were there at Wembley to see the famous upset.

He doesn’t go to football much these days, but you can be sure he’ll be back on a racecourse when Jacquelina returns to training with McEntee, who was recommended by a friend in Newmarket when the owner was looking to move on from Julia Feilden.

Thoughtsofstardom and Luloah won plenty of races between them in the early days of the partnership; his father’s estate owns Racefield Stables on Hamilton Road, where McEntee trains.

Johnson, who has had a winner over jumps but prefers the thrill of sprinting, says: “I had a horse called Philippine Cobra who won a premier fillies’ handicap at York in 2019, which was great.

“However, the Jacquelina story is magical because I named her in memory of my wife. It’s unbelievable really.

“We don’t know where she’ll end up, but I don’t think she’s finished at 82.”

He adds: “It’s easy enough to buy a horse but it’s an achievement to get one to win. Jacquelina has surpassed all my expectations.”