Bobalot

At that level, Bobalot has actually been pretty effective when conditions suit, winning 3 of its 22 Class 5 races — roughly 1 in every 7 at that grade, which is a decent return. The wins have come at Chepstow and most recently at Huntingdon in April 2025, and they paint a picture of a horse that knows what it's doing when everything clicks. The problem is that nothing has clicked for a while. Bobalot hasn't won in its last 6 races, and recent form shows a string of third-place finishes — consistent enough to suggest the ability is still there, but not quite enough to get over the line.

That Huntingdon win was 12 months ago now, which is a long time in racing. A short break of 43 days separates this horse from its last run, which could mean the yard — sorry, which could mean the team at Laura Horsfall's Towcester yard are freshening things up ahead of a new push. Horsfall has sent out 5 winners this season, so the yard is in form even if Bobalot personally has gone quiet. Regular jockey Ben Jones has ridden the horse 10 times for 1 win together — the same 1-in-10 ratio as the overall career, so no particular magic when they team up, but a familiarity that at least means no one's going in blind.

The honest assessment is that Bobalot is a nine-year-old trying to rediscover the spark that produced that Huntingdon winner last spring. The third-place finishes suggest it hasn't given up, and horses that keep hitting the frame are often one good day away from converting. Whether that day comes soon is the question.