Dr Rio

What makes the story really interesting is where those six wins have come from. Every single one of them has been at Beverley — a tight, undulating track on the East Yorkshire coast that suits certain horses down to the ground, sometimes literally. Winning 6 from 24 races at one track is not coincidence; it is a genuine love affair. Dr Rio first won there back in August 2022 and returned to do it again as recently as August 2025. For a horse of this age to still be competitive enough to win at a track it knows intimately is genuinely impressive.

The recent form backs that up. In the last six races, Dr Rio has finished 1-6-6-1-5-5 (reading from most recent), meaning two wins sandwiched between some quieter efforts. That pattern — patchy in the middle, brilliant on the right day — is very Dr Rio. Ground matters too. On dry or normal conditions, the numbers sharpen considerably: 3 wins from 15 races on fast ground (1 in every 5) and 3 from 11 on normal ground (better than 1 in every 4). When conditions suit and the track is Beverley, this horse becomes a different proposition.

Jockey Zak Wheatley has been the main partner, riding Dr Rio in 23 of its races and winning 4 of them — a rate of roughly 1 in every 6 rides together, which is noticeably better than the overall career average and suggests a genuine working understanding between horse and rider. The whole operation is run by trainer Declan Carroll out of Malton in North Yorkshire, a yard that has sent out 22 winners this season alone and clearly knows how to place a horse to its best advantage. Dr Rio competes mostly at the lower end of the racing ladder, but within that world, and especially at Beverley, it remains one to watch.