Hyland

Across 28 races in total, Hyland has won 7 and placed 16 times — a win rate of around 1 in every 4 races, which is strong by any measure. The horse also has two wins from four visits to Warwick, where it broke its career duck back in March 2022. There is a pattern here of a horse that performs best when conditions are right: on normal ground, Hyland has won 5 of 13 races, a rate of 38%, compared to a much patchier record when the ground is softer or faster. In other words, when the track is riding well, this horse is a very different proposition.

The partnership with jockey Nico de Boinville is the most productive of Hyland's career — 6 wins from 21 races together works out at roughly 1 in every 3.5 rides, well above the horse's overall average. Behind them both is the Nicky Henderson yard at Upper Lambourn, one of the most successful training operations in jump racing. Henderson's team has sent out 85 winners this season alone, so Hyland is part of a genuinely formidable setup.

The complication is recent form. Hyland has not won in its last six races, with finishes of ninth, seventh, fourth, sixth, and sixth — and a blank before that. The last win came 17 months ago. That kind of run would concern any racing fan, and it raises a fair question about whether the Cheltenham version of Hyland — dominant, decisive, class-defying — is still in there. The horse raced 19 days ago and is clearly still being aimed at big targets. Whether the spark returns is the interesting question. The evidence says it can.