Groom De Cotte

His first win only arrived at Fontwell Park in September 2024, which tells you this is not a horse who set the world alight early. But he followed it up with another win at Huntingdon in March 2025, and that second success matters — it showed the first was not a fluke. He races mostly at Class 5 level, which is the everyday, bread-and-butter tier of British racing rather than the glamour end, and within that company he has won 2 of his 15 races at that level, or roughly 1 in every 7 and a half, which is a perfectly respectable return once he found his feet.

One thing that clearly suits him is a bit of cut in the ground — wet or soft conditions. On that type of surface he has won 2 of 13 races, a win rate of around 15%, which works out to roughly 1 in every 6 or 7 races. In racing terms, that is a horse who performs noticeably better when the ground is soft underfoot, and it is the kind of detail a knowledgeable fan would keep an eye on when entries come out.

Richie McLernon has ridden him most often, partnering him in 13 of his 23 races for 1 win together — so that particular combination has not always clicked, even if McLernon has been the regular booking. Trainer Gary Brown operates a small yard at Fox Hill in Wiltshire and has sent out just 1 winner this season, making Groom De Cotte's recent contributions genuinely significant to the team's numbers. Last raced 30 days ago and still active, he is a horse whose second wind arrived late in life — and that alone makes him worth watching.