King Roly

The most striking thing about King Roly is what he does at Perth. He has won 3 of his 6 races there, which means he wins half the time he turns up at that particular track. For context, most horses win somewhere between 1 in 8 and 1 in 10 of their races on average, so winning half your races at a course is the kind of record that makes trainers plan their whole summer around it. Mickey Bowen is doing exactly that — he has his eye on a race at Perth's three-day festival next month, and given what this horse does there, that looks an astute target.

Normal ground suits him best. All five of his career wins have come on standard conditions, and he has converted 5 from 12 races — 42% — in those circumstances. Get him on wet or muddy ground, and the results dry up. That is useful information for anyone following him: watch the weather forecast before Perth in April.

His partnership with jockey James Bowen, the trainer's son, has produced 3 wins from 10 races together — 30%, or just under 1 in 3. That is a meaningful number and suggests the horse goes well with a rider who clearly knows him. Bowen senior described his jumping at home as "electric" after a recent run at Ffos Las, noting that King Roly was a little slow to warm up before finding his rhythm — a pattern worth keeping in mind. The trainer also has bigger ambitions for the summer, mentioning the Summer Plate at Market Rasen as a potential target, which is the kind of race that would represent a step up in prestige for King Roly. He raced just yesterday, so he is in good heart and very much in the thick of his season.