Inca De Lafayette

His career has not always been straightforward. After making a winning debut over fences for trainer Paul Nicholls, he went through a frustrating period where he simply could not add to that first success. The reason, it turned out, was a breathing problem that had been quietly holding him back. Once that was identified and fixed over a summer, he came back and immediately won by 13 lengths — which is about as emphatic as it gets. That kind of turnaround says a lot about what Nicholls and his team at Ditcheat can do when they get to the bottom of an issue. It is worth noting that this is a yard currently operating at a remarkable level — 91 winners already this season.

Taunton has become something of a home track for Inca De Lafayette. He has won there twice from five visits, and it is where he got his career off the mark back in February 2022. Two wins from five races at a single venue might not sound like much, but in a sport where horses travel all over the country and rarely settle anywhere, that kind of consistency in one place is genuinely notable. His most recent win came at Plumpton just two months ago, in April 2026, and he raced again just yesterday — so this is a horse bang in the middle of a purple patch.

The one area where the numbers give pause is at Class 3 level, the grade he competes at most often. There, he has won just 1 from 8 races — about 1 in 8, which is a noticeably lower hit rate than his overall record suggests. It points to a horse who is competitive at that level but not always dominant. When regular jockey Harry Cobden is in the saddle, however, the picture improves sharply: three wins from seven rides together, which works out at 43%, or close to winning every other time they team up. That partnership is clearly one worth following.