Escapologist

His first win came at Fakenham in January 2025, and his trainer Nick Scholfield — who operates out of Lambourn in Berkshire and has sent out 22 winners this season — has been clear about the direction of travel. Speaking last autumn, Scholfield said the horse had summered well and was ready to try his luck over fences rather than hurdles, with two and a half miles looking like the right distance for him. That switch in discipline matters: moving from hurdles to fences is a bit like a footballer changing position, and some horses genuinely improve when they find the job that suits them.

Whether that's happening for Escapologist is still an open question, but his most recent win — at Market Rasen in March 2026, just four months ago — came at Class 4 level, which is the bread-and-butter tier of British jump racing. He's won 1 from 6 at that level, or roughly 1 in 6, which is actually a decent return at that grade. His regular partner in the saddle is amateur rider Mr Alex Chadwick, who has been on board for 5 of his 16 races and won once together — a 20% win rate when they're paired up, which compares very favourably to his overall record and suggests the combination works.

His recent form reads a little patchy — a win followed by a fourth, a sixth, and a third in his last few outings — but he raced just yesterday, meaning Scholfield clearly has him ticking over nicely. A horse that's active, has a trainer who believes in a specific trip and discipline for it, and wins roughly 1 in 5 races when Chadwick is aboard is not one to write off. Escapologist might be a slow burner, but slow burners sometimes catch fire.