Count Palatine

What makes Count Palatine genuinely interesting is how dominant he is at Carlisle. He's won 2 of just 3 races there, a win rate of 67 percent that stands out sharply against his overall record. For any horse, a track where you win two thirds of the time is something to build your season around. He also has a clear preference for slightly soft ground—winning 2 of 7 races (29 percent) when conditions are a bit boggy, compared to his meager overall win rate. A jockey-horse partnership can matter too, and Connor Beasley has ridden him 9 times with 2 wins between them (22 percent), suggesting they work well together.

He's trained by Michael Dods at Piercebridge in County Durham, a yard that has sent out 43 winners this season—solid form that shows Dods knows how to get horses ready. Count Palatine typically races in Class 4, the kind of bread-and-butter competitive races where consistency matters more than brilliance. A horse with his record—five wins from 34 starts—earns his keep by trying hard and occasionally finding the front. His first win came at Thirsk in September 2024, and nearly two years later he's still racing and competing. That kind of longevity, combined with his Carlisle form, suggests a horse that the yard trust and that has plenty of racing left in him.