Absolutely Doyen

The numbers alone are striking. From just nine races in total, Absolutely Doyen has won five and placed in seven — meaning he has finished in the top positions in every single race he has contested. A win rate of 56%, or just over half of all races he has entered, is extraordinary by any measure. For context, most good racehorses win roughly one in five or six races over a career. This horse is winning more than every other time he turns up, and he only started winning as recently as October 2025, at Stratford-on-Avon. The improvement since then has been relentless.

What makes the story particularly compelling is how recent and rapid this transformation has been. Nicholls has spoken publicly about a horse that has had to learn almost everything from scratch — how to settle, how to jump, how to handle racing life. Longer distances have clearly unlocked something in him, and the mental side has developed just as much as the physical. A horse that is still figuring out its job and already winning Class 2 races is a rare and exciting thing to follow.

The yard behind him is no ordinary operation. Nicholls' team at Ditcheat has sent out 92 winners already this season — one of the most productive stables in the country. When a trainer of that experience singles out a horse as one that could prove to be well below his true rating, it is worth listening. Absolutely Doyen currently carries an official rating of 135, and Nicholls has hinted that in a year's time, that mark may look like a gift. There is also talk of a future over fences, where bigger, more prestigious races await.

The one note of caution is that single eighth-place finish interrupting that otherwise flawless recent sequence — a reminder that no horse wins forever. But for now, Absolutely Doyen is the kind of horse who makes watching racing feel worth it: young, improving, and seemingly not done yet.