Choccabloc

The standout moment came at Ludlow in November 2023, when Choccabloc won a Class 2 race — one of the top tier of races in Britain. That's a significant result for a horse at this level, and it suggests there's genuine talent in there when conditions align. The first career win had come just six months earlier at Market Rasen in May 2023, so that was a productive stretch. Since then, though, the wins have dried up entirely. It has now gone 29 months without a victory across its last 6 races, and recent form — a fourth place the pick of an otherwise blank run of results — makes for fairly sobering reading.

One thing that does stand out is how Choccabloc performs on wet or muddy ground. With 2 wins from 6 races in those conditions, it wins 1 in every 3 times the ground is soft — a much better record than its overall numbers suggest. That's the kind of stat that matters. It means that when there's been rain and the track is riding soft, this horse becomes a genuinely different proposition. On fast, dry ground the story is far less convincing.

Regular jockey Brian Hayes hasn't yet managed to get the horse to the winner's enclosure in 5 rides together, which will be a frustration for the McNamara yard. At 8 years old, time isn't unlimited, and a horse that once beat good horses in a top race deserves another chance to remind everyone what it can do. The next rainy day at the right track could be the one that ends a long wait.