Kripticjim

The trajectory tells the real story. Its last six races read 2-1-1-1-6-6 from oldest to most recent, meaning after two below-par efforts it reeled off three wins on the bounce before a sixth-place finish last time out. The centrepiece of that run was a Class 1 victory at Cheltenham in January 2026 — as big as British racing gets. After the race, trainer Joe Tizzard admitted he was baffled by the starting price, saying he couldn't believe what price Kripticjim was given everything the horse had already shown. High praise, delivered with genuine exasperation.

Tizzard, who trains out of Milborne Port in Dorset and has sent out 58 winners already this season alone, has been careful and deliberate with this horse. He's spoken openly about being patient with it, treating it like a nice horse rather than rushing it through the ranks — and that patience looks to have paid off handsomely. The first career win came at Exeter in February 2025 in a Class 2 race, a solid level to open your account at, and the horse has been climbing ever since.

Much of that progress has been made alongside jockey Brendan Powell, who has partnered Kripticjim in eight of its nine races and won four of them — a win rate of exactly 50%, which is a remarkable partnership statistic by any measure. The two clearly understand each other. Tizzard noted after Cheltenham that the horse travelled better that day than he'd ever seen it travel, and jumped beautifully for almost the entire race.

What comes next is genuinely exciting. Tizzard has entered Kripticjim in two of the most prestigious races at the Cheltenham Festival — the Turners and the Albert Bartlett — while also flagging that the horse is a natural chaser in the long run, bought specifically with that discipline in mind. A horse that wins nearly half its races, has already landed a top-level prize, and still has a bigger career ahead of it is a rare thing. Keep an eye on this one.