Hooper

Trained by Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies at their yard in Naunton, Gloucestershire — a stable that has sent out 62 winners already this season — Hooper is clearly in capable hands. The trainer has spoken warmly about him, describing him as a great servant who has been genuinely consistent over the years. He missed well over a year of racing after May 2023, but the yard's view was straightforward: get him back on fast, dry ground and he would still be competitive. That is the kind of quiet confidence a trainer only expresses about a horse he genuinely rates.

His recent form tells an interesting story. In his last six races, his finishing positions read 3rd, 4th, pulled up, 9th, 5th, and 2nd — working backwards from most recent. The pulled up and the ninth are the obvious blips, but either side of those runs sit some decent efforts, including a second place that suggests he is not far off. At Class 3 level, where he has run eight times without winning, he has consistently been competitive enough to place without quite getting over the line. That can be frustrating, but it also means he belongs at that level — he is not being outclassed, just outfinished.

What lifts this profile above the ordinary is the jockey's account of a Cheltenham run, which stands out sharply from the statistics. Describing Hooper travelling powerfully, jumping beautifully, and winning with something in hand, Ben Ffrench Davis said he was thinking about the winning margin from the bottom of the hill. That is not the language of a horse scraping home — that is a dominant performance at one of the most famous tracks in Britain. Hooper clearly has the ability. Getting him to reproduce that on a consistent basis is the puzzle his yard is still trying to solve.