Doc McCoy

Trained by Jamie Snowden at his Lambourn yard — one of the busiest and most productive operations around, having sent out 82 winners already this season — Doc McCoy sits comfortably at Class 4 level, which is the solid mid-tier of British racing. He has won 3 of his 13 races at that level, and it appears to be his sweet spot: competitive enough to be interesting, without being outclassed. His most trusted partner in the saddle is Gavin Sheehan, who has ridden him to 3 of those wins from 14 races together, a combination that clearly works.

What makes Doc McCoy genuinely interesting is his background. He came to racing via showjumping, which gave him an instinctive confidence over fences that you simply cannot teach. Snowden has described him as a natural jumper, and that heritage shows. His first career win came at Huntingdon in October 2023, and since then he has kept finding the winner's enclosure with satisfying regularity. In one spell, he won four races from thirteen between Christmas and the following autumn — a run of form that would be the envy of horses operating at far higher levels.

His recent form reads well too. In his last six races, he has posted a win, two second places, and a third — consistently knocking on the door. His last victory came at Warwick in October 2025, and Snowden has suggested a winter break is likely before a spring campaign on the fast ground Doc McCoy clearly prefers. A horse who wins nearly 1 in 4 races, jumps for fun, and has a trainer with 82 winners behind him this season is well worth following into the new year.