Despereaux

His career got off to a chaotic start — he ran out on his very first race before getting round properly at Huntingdon in November 2022 and winning on that completed debut. Williams recalls him going close at Huntingdon shortly after that, where he would likely have finished second but for jumping the final fence a little long and drifting right. Crucially, the horse who did beat him that day went on to win again, suggesting Despereaux was already mixing it with decent company early in his career.

At seven years old, he is now at the stage where patterns in his form are well established, and a couple stand out. The most striking is his record at Taunton, where he has won 2 from just 4 races — that is winning half the time at one track, which is the kind of number that makes people pay attention. Ground matters too: on slightly soft underfoot conditions he has won 3 of 8 races, a 38% win rate. Compare that to his overall record and the message is clear — when the ground has a bit of give in it, he becomes a meaningfully better horse.

His most regular jockey is David Noonan, who has partnered him in 14 of his 27 races for 2 wins together — roughly 1 in every 7 rides. That is a touch below Despereaux's overall average, though 14 races is a solid sample and the partnership clearly has continuity behind it. Williams's yard has been in strong form this season, sending out 21 winners, so this is a team that knows how to get horses ready to perform.

He raced just yesterday, which underlines how active he currently is, and his recent run of form — a win, a second, and a third among his last five outings before a slightly disappointing sixth last time — suggests he is holding his form well into the season. Last won at Hereford in December, so the yard will be hoping that a return to somewhere like Taunton, ideally on a soft day, brings the best out of him again soon.