Joker De Mai

The big clue is the ground. On slightly soft, damp turf, Joker De Mai has won 2 of its 5 races — a 40% win rate that is genuinely striking. Put that in perspective: across its whole career, it wins roughly 1 in 7. On wet ground specifically, it wins 2 in 5. That kind of split tells you the horse has a real preference, not just a mild one. When conditions suit, it transforms.

The partnership with amateur rider Mr David Maxwell is another thread worth pulling. Together they've won 2 of their 9 races — roughly 1 in every 4 or 5 — which is a meaningfully better return than the horse manages overall. That kind of consistency between a horse and a specific rider often reflects genuine understanding, the sort of thing that's hard to put a number on but shows up in results.

Trained by Clive Boultbee-Brooks out of a small yard in Woolhope, Herefordshire, Joker De Mai operates in a quiet, unpretentious setup that has still managed 9 winners this season. The team knows what they're doing. The horse's most recent win came at Leicester in March 2025, and before that its first win was at Lingfield in December 2023 — both ticks on the board, even if form has since dried up over the last six races.

That's where the honest assessment has to land. Joker De Mai hasn't won in 6 races, and at the level it most often competes — one step below the top end of the sport — it has drawn a blank in all 6 attempts, winning none of them. But it last raced just 37 days ago, has been placed three times in its last four completed outings, and is clearly not out of form. Give it wet ground, put David Maxwell in the saddle, and the case for a big run starts to look rather more interesting.