Kashchei

That win arrived at Kelso on 6 May 2026, and it remains the defining moment of his career so far. Kelso, tucked away in the Scottish Borders, is a track that rewards horses who stay on strongly and handle a turning, undulating course — so winning there is no fluke. It came eight weeks ago, and his recent form makes for interesting reading: he has gone from a sixth and a seventh, through a fifth and a third, right up to that victory. That is a horse building momentum race by race, improving with each outing rather than stumbling into form by accident.

He raced again just yesterday, which means Cian Collins — his trainer, based at Navan in County Meath — clearly has him in good order and is keeping him busy while he is running well. Collins has sent out 20 winners from his yard this season, which is a solid haul and suggests a trainer who knows how to place his horses and get the best out of them. For Kashchei to be trained by someone operating at that level is a decent sign for where his career might go from here.

One win from 13 races — roughly 1 in every 13 — is not a headline number, but statistics only tell part of the story. Five places alongside that single win means Kashchei has finished in the first three or four in nearly half his races. He is the kind of horse who keeps showing up and keeps being competitive. Whether he can add to that Kelso win now that he has found his confidence is the question worth watching.