Blueking d'Oroux

The 7-year-old is trained by Paul Nicholls at Ditcheat in Somerset, arguably the most powerful jumping yard in the country right now — 92 winners already this season tells you everything about the operation he comes from. In the saddle, Harry Cobden has partnered him for 15 of his 18 races and won 4 of them, a ratio of roughly 1 in every 4 rides together, which speaks to a genuine partnership built over time. Nicholls has compared him to Pic D'Orhy, a stablemate with serious credentials, and described him as the horse's "mirror image" — high praise from a trainer who does not throw compliments around carelessly.

His record at Ascot stands out particularly. Two wins from five races there, including a top-level win in November 2023, marks him as a horse who has genuinely taken to that track. But his most recent victory — a Class 1 race at Wincanton in November 2025 — was perhaps the most revealing. Nicholls noted after the race that Blueking d'Oroux is cautious by nature, always backing off his fences rather than attacking them boldly. That makes life hard. But over three miles, that careful style seemed to settle into something more rhythmic, and he knuckled down to win when it mattered. That combination of honesty and durability is exactly what trainers look for.

Recent form reads 2-2-5-1-2-1 — two wins sandwiching a dip in the middle, with the horse finishing in the top two in four of his last six races. That is the profile of a reliable, consistent performer at the top level, not a horse that flukes the odd big result. Nicholls believes his best days are still ahead, suggesting he will be an even better horse over fences than he was over hurdles. Given everything he has already achieved, that is a genuinely exciting thought.