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Around home he's so slow in his work that Cambridge trainer Shelley Hale labels him a plodder.
But Hale's exciting winter galloper The Fred Factor - who keeps dumbfounding trackwork spies every time he races - could now be just two runs away from a group three pay-day.
Win today against R83 rivals at Matamata, and then again in open class on July 21, and The Fred Factor seals a start in the $125,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 4.
"If he was to win his next two we'd have to start looking at the Winter Cup seriously," said Hale of the TAB's $41 fixed odds chance for Riccarton.
"He's not done much wrong so far and there aren't a lot of other decent races around to aim for at this time of the year."
Adding to the buzz of having a potential winter star in her small stable is the fact Hale owns and bred the gelding with her mum Judy.
And they're also getting a kick out of watching The Fred Factor live up to his unusual name.
The Fred Factor began life as Friendly Freddy because of his inquisitive nature as a Windsor Park foal.
But when it came to naming him for racing, Hale says every obvious Fred options were already taken.
Desperate for a Fred of some description, Hale turned to Google, which spat out the moniker for a best-selling book from an American self-help guru on how to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Each time The Fred Factor races, Hale's trackwork snail does just that.
And with an ounce more luck, his record of three wins from just six starts would be even better.
Freshened after a first-up win this campaign, The Fred Factor blew up late from his wide alley when a close fourth at Ellerslie on June 2.
Then last time out the big strider failed to cope with the tight Te Awamutu bends over 1150m, a trip now short of his best.
Two strides past the post he was clearly in front and flying past the R83 rivals.
"That was always the risk going there [Te Awamutu]," said Hale.
"But there's so few rating 83 races around we really had no option."
The Fred Factor should relish his first 1400m assignment today, as long as Matamata stays on the loose side of heavy, said Hale.
As for the 58kg, Hale never considered an apprentice claim, content instead to finally get a rider back on who knows the horse in champion Lisa Cropp.
The Fred Factor has had a different jockey in every start until now.
"The most important thing for me was to get a rider who's ridden him before," said Hale.
"And if he's going to be a realistic chance in the Winter Cup, he should be able to lump 58kg and still win."
Meanwhile, Hale is also excited about plans for The Fred Factor's half-brother Barry James, who she scratched today because of the heavy track.
"We may reserve him for Ruakaka, or sit on him for the spring," said Hale.
"I think he could be a pretty special horse who will go on good tracks as well."
