Broomfields Cave

The most striking thing about this horse right now is the form. Three wins from the last six races is a hot streak by any measure, and it comes off the back of a difficult spell that included an injury-enforced year off the track. Neil Mulholland's yard at Limpley Stoke — which has sent out 60 winners already this season, so this is a team that knows what it is doing — clearly did a patient job getting Broomfields Cave back to his best. You don't often see a horse return from a year on the sidelines and start winning races at this rate.

Wincanton is where this horse really comes alive. Two wins from just three visits makes that a genuine course record — win 2 out of every 3 times at the same track and you are not just getting lucky, you are at home. The most recent of those wins came just three weeks ago, and jockey Bradley Harris was candid afterwards about what it takes to ride him well: you have to be patient on the first circuit, let him find his rhythm, and then get out of the way. That's the sort of horse-specific knowledge that wins races, and it explains why the combination clicks when things are handled correctly.

Ground conditions matter enormously here. This horse visibly struggles when the ground is wet and soft — Harris pointed to a poor run at Doncaster on soft ground as evidence of that. On faster, drier ground he is a different animal entirely, described as springing off the surface rather than grinding through it. With Sam Twiston-Davies in the saddle, the partnership has clicked at a rate of 2 wins from 5 rides together — 40%, or winning two in every five — which is a strong record worth noting if the pair line up again. Broomfields Cave raced just yesterday and remains active, so there may not be long to wait.