Frere d'Armes

The partnership with jockey Harry Skelton is where things get interesting. The two have raced together 14 times, producing 4 wins — that is roughly a 1-in-3 success rate, which is exceptional by any standard. When Skelton is in the saddle, something clicks. His brother Dan Skelton trains the horse from their yard in Alcester, Warwickshire — a formidable operation that has sent out 194 winners already this season, which puts it among the most productive yards in Britain.

Frere d'Armes clearly has preferences, and understanding them explains a lot. On slightly soft ground — think damp, slightly yielding turf rather than anything waterlogged — he has won 4 of 12 races, a 33% success rate. He also favours a trip of between one mile six furlongs and two miles, winning 2 of 6 races at those distances. These are not random numbers; they are a map of when this horse is at his best. Dan Skelton himself has noted that he is not necessarily a horse who loves genuinely heavy ground, describing him as an accurate mover who handled better conditions well. His jumping, by Skelton's account, is his greatest weapon — brilliant and reliable.

The one cloud hanging over him is Class 2 company. Those are among the better races in Britain, and in 11 attempts at that level, he has not won once. His last victory came at Stratford-on-Avon in May 2025, and he has not troubled the winner's enclosure in six races since. But that Stratford win represented his seventh career success, and Dan Skelton said as recently as November 2024 that he believed another win was coming. With a horse that has placed 16 times, you cannot write him off — he simply keeps showing up and making his presence felt. The question is whether the yard can find the right race, on the right ground, at the right distance to unlock number eight.