City Chief

The partnership with Nico de Boinville, one of jump racing's most respected jockeys, tells an interesting story on its own. They've been paired together eight times, which suggests a long-term working relationship built on trust — but the record shows just 1 win from those 8 races together. That's roughly 1 in every 8, or about 12%. That's not a failure; it reflects the fact that City Chief has mostly been campaigned at the highest level, where simply finishing in the frame is an achievement. Three of those races together have ended without a finish at all, hinting at a horse that has had its share of hard days.

What stands out now is the gap. That Wetherby win was 38 months ago, and City Chief hasn't won since. The last six runs have produced a 14th place and three unfinished races — the dashes in the form figures — alongside a fifth and a sixth. That's a difficult run for any horse, and the fact that it is now returning from a break of around three months adds another layer of uncertainty. An absence of that length can mean all sorts of things: a minor setback, a careful preparation, or simply giving a horse time to come back fresh.

City Chief is now eight years old — an age where experienced horses can still produce their best on the right day, but where the team managing them tend to be selective about when and where they run. The first win came at Hereford in March 2022, a full year before the Class 1 triumph at Wetherby, which suggests this is a horse that took time to find its best form. Whether it can find that level again after such a long winless run is the question every race-goer will be watching to answer.