Mister Cessna

He genuinely thrives on normal ground. On a standard surface he has won 2 of 4 races, a 50% win rate that tells you conditions really do matter with this horse. Pair that with his preferred trip — races between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — where he has won 2 of just 3 attempts, and you start to understand what he needs to show his best. Get him at the right distance on the right ground and he becomes a very different proposition.

His first win came at Ludlow in April 2025, and trainer Fergal O'Brien was candid about what had come before it. A run at Chepstow had been badly disappointing — O'Brien's own words were that he had put the horse in the deep end and embarrassed himself and the owners with the entry. That kind of honesty from a trainer is worth noting, and the Ludlow win clearly meant a lot as a result. O'Brien has since spoken about taking his chance in the Boodles — one of the top races in Britain — if Mister Cessna gets an entry, which suggests real ambition for a horse who is still learning his trade.

Jockey Jonathan Burke has ridden him in 6 of those 8 races and partnered him to both wins, giving the pair a 33% win rate together — winning roughly 1 in every 3 races they start. That continuity matters. A horse and jockey who know each other well are always a stronger combination, and Burke clearly understands what makes this horse tick.

Recent form tells a mixed story — a pair of wins sandwiched around a few quieter efforts, including an out-of-character eighteenth-place finish. But he raced just yesterday and remains active, trained out of Fergal O'Brien's yard in Withington, Gloucestershire, which has sent out 90 winners this season alone. O'Brien's operation is firing, and Mister Cessna looks like one of its more interesting prospects as the season develops.