Never So Bold was a "big, rangy, good-looking"[1] bay horse with a small white star[2] bred by the Mount Rosa Stud.
On his first two starts as a four-year-old Never So Bold was beaten in a handicap race at Newmarket at was then tried at Listed class in the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock Park Racecourse, where he finished second to Mr Meeka.
The colt's rise to the top of the sprint division came in June when he won the Prix de la Porte Maillot, a weak-looking[4] Group Three event over 1400 metres at Longchamp Racecourse.
In the Group One July Cup at Newmarket he started a 33/1 outsider but exceeded expectations by finishing second to the three-year-old Chief Singer, and ahead of the leading sprinters Committed and Habibti.
[4] On his next appearance he was ridden by Tony Murray in the Vernons Sprint Cup at Haydock and finished third, beaten a short head and half a length by Petong and Habibti.
[4] It had been intended that the colt would be retired to stud at the end of the year, but when an injury prevented him from taking the required medical checks the decision was taken to keep him in training for one more season.
At York Racecourse on 22 August, Never So Bold won his third consecutive Group One race as he beat Primo Dominie by two lengths in the William Hill Sprint Championship (now the Nunthorpe Stakes).
[7] The independent Timeform organisation disagreed, assigning Never So Bold a rating of 135 (level with the filly Pebbles), making him the highest-rated older male horse of the year as well as their champion sprinter.
[11] He was, however, the damsire of Presvis, a gelding who earned prize money of more than £4 million, winning races including the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Dubai Duty Free Stakes.