Dickens

Candlish herself noted back in October 2024 that Dickens had missed the previous season entirely, and that he would probably need a first run back just to sharpen up. What followed instead has been a sustained purple patch. He won at Hexham in March 2025 and has continued to deliver, most recently winning at Cartmel just this week. That Hexham connection is worth noting — he has won 2 of his 3 races there, the kind of course record that suggests something about the track suits him down to the ground.

The partnership with jockey Luke Scott has been central to all of this. The two have raced together nine times and won four of them — that's a win rate of 44%, which is genuinely exceptional. Nearly half their races together have ended in a winner's enclosure. When Scott is in the saddle, Dickens is a different proposition.

Most of Dickens' wins have come at Class 5 level — one step up from the very bottom of the racing ladder — where he has won 5 of 12 races, a remarkable 42% win rate. That context matters: at this level he is not just competitive, he is dominant. Candlish's yard has been firing on all cylinders too, sending out 61 winners this season alone, so Dickens is thriving in exactly the right environment. An active, in-form horse, a trainer in full flow, and a jockey who clearly gets the best out of him — the combination is working beautifully right now.