Hiddenvalley Lake

That top level is where Hiddenvalley Lake genuinely belongs. He has run four times in Class 1 races — the elite tier of British racing — and won one of them, a remarkable enough return when you consider the quality of opposition those races attract. That win came at Aintree on 5 April 2025, where he landed the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle. It was a performance that surprised even his trainer, Henry De Bromhead, who had been nervous about the ground conditions that day. The ground was faster than De Bromhead would have liked for a horse he believed needed wet, muddy conditions to be at his best — yet Hiddenvalley Lake handled it and won anyway. That kind of versatility is genuinely rare and makes him a more interesting proposition going forward.

What De Bromhead has since said about this horse in wet conditions is striking. After an earlier run at Navan in heavy, waterlogged ground, the trainer noted that the further Hiddenvalley Lake went, the better he jumped, and that the horse simply loves those conditions. The implication is clear: on really testing ground over a long distance, he may not yet have reached his ceiling.

Rachael Blackmore, one of the most celebrated jockeys in the sport, has ridden him six times and won twice — a 33% win rate that mirrors his overall record. At Aintree, it was a tactical decision made moments before the race — De Bromhead telling her to ride him in his usual style rather than try to control proceedings — that proved the difference.

Now 61 days into a short break, Hiddenvalley Lake is being pointed at either the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot or the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown, with the De Bromhead yard — which has sent out 107 winners already this season — still deciding which race suits him best. For a nine-year-old who has only just won a Grade 1, the best may genuinely still be to come.