Champagne Twist

The eight-year-old has won 2 of his 17 races, which works out at roughly 1 in every 8 — a modest record on paper. But one of those wins came in a Class 1 race at Sandown Park in March 2024, which places him among the elite tier of British racing. That is not the kind of win a middle-of-the-road horse stumbles into. It came at the end of a sharp little sequence: he had broken his duck at Doncaster in January 2024, then followed up at Sandown just six weeks later, beating a horse his jockey Ben Jones described as a future star. Jones's reasoning for picking Champagne Twist that day was revealing — "a bit more streetwise," he said. That is the sort of thing you say about a horse with nous, one who knows how to win.

Jones has ridden him 12 times in total, winning twice — a win rate of 17%, or roughly 1 in every 6 rides together. At his most common level of competition, Class 3, the record is 1 win from 10 races, which is honest rather than spectacular. But that Sandown Class 1 win is the thing to hold onto. It suggests that on his day, in the right conditions, he operates well above that level.

The problem is that the day after Sandown, the wheels came off. Trainer Ben Pauling is candid about it: last season was one problem after another, and Champagne Twist never got going. He has not won in his last six races, with his most recent placing coming second time out in that sequence. That is now 28 months since he last crossed the line first.

Pauling, whose yard has sent out 91 winners this season, sounds genuinely optimistic heading into the next chapter. The horse is moving well, he says, and the plan is to find a race on softer, wetter ground — conditions that Champagne Twist's jockey flagged after Sandown as the key to unlocking his best form. If that combination comes together, there is a legitimate case that a horse who won a top-level race at eight has unfinished business. The talent was always there. The question is whether the problems are finally behind him.