Kap Vert

The six-year-old is trained by Philip Hobbs and Johnson White at their yard in Bilbrook, Somerset, which has sent out 37 winners already this season — a productive operation by any measure. Kap Vert has contributed meaningfully to that total, winning 4 of his 13 races overall (just under 1 in every 3) and placing in 8 of them, which means he has finished in the first three in more than half his career outings. That is the profile of a horse who shows up and competes, rather than one who flatters only to disappear.

His recent form is particularly strong. In his last six races he has won three, finished third once, fourth once, and had one poor run — a sequence that suggests he is in the form of his life right now. Jockey Sean Houlihan has been a big part of that, winning 3 of the 6 races they have shared together. That is a remarkable 1-in-2 ratio, and the partnership clearly works.

Kap Vert is at his best on normal ground — the kind of conditions you get on a decent spring or autumn day. On those surfaces he has won 3 of just 5 races, a 60% win rate that is genuinely exceptional. He has shown he can handle better company too, though his record at Class 3 level — one win from six races — suggests the step up in grade does make things harder. It is worth noting that trainer Philip Hobbs was candid after a disappointing run at Cheltenham last autumn: the plan was to switch Kap Vert to fences, and the horse schooled well over them. That transition appears to have given him a new lease of life.

For a horse whose first win only came in December 2024, the trajectory since then has been steep and exciting. Three wins in six races, a perfect record at his local track, and a partnership with Houlihan that seems to bring out the best in him — Kap Vert looks like a horse very much on the up.