Bobacious

Hoad, based at Lewes in East Sussex, describes Bobacious as over-exuberant—the kind of horse that flies out of the stalls so hard he can be vulnerable if he doesn't have enough fuel left in the tank late on. The yard bought him at the sales in November for a syndicate looking for a genuine ride rather than a future star, and they got exactly that. He runs in a hood these days, which tells you something about his temperament, but that eagerness is also part of what makes him competitive. He's won roughly 1 race in every 5 on fast, dry ground (4 wins from 14 races), which is significantly better than his overall record, and he's developed into a course specialist at Epsom Downs, winning 2 of his 4 races there. His most recent victory came at Epsom just four weeks ago, and his last run—a seventh-place finish just a day ago—suggests he's still being given chances to prove he belongs.

Joshua Bryan, his most frequent rider, has won 2 of 10 races with him (a 20% win rate), better than his overall record, and his second place at Nottingham last time out shows he can run respectably even when he doesn't quite have it that day. Bobacious may never be a pattern horse or a big earner, but for a syndicate wanting genuine fun and the occasional winner to celebrate, he's delivering exactly what he was bought to do.