My Chiquita

The horse earned her first win at Nottingham in June 2023 and has been racing steadily ever since, mostly at lower levels. Her most recent victory came five months ago at Cartmel, the small track in Cumbria where Moffatt trains. But her last six races tell a story of decline—a fourth-place finish, then an eighth, another fourth, a seventh, a third, and most recently a fourth. She was last seen on the track one day ago, suggesting the yard is still looking for the right race to wind down her career properly.

Moffatt and his assistant Ben Brookhouse have made it clear they are thinking long-term with My Chiquita. They deliberately schooled her hard before one of her wins at Sedgefield because the ground was right, and they have been patient about when to run her, holding her back when conditions were poor. They describe her as "a big baby"—meaning still immature and capable of learning—and after losing her half-brother, there is a sense of purpose about developing her carefully for life as a broodmare. The plan is to target the mares' meeting at Cheltenham in April, where she will have a chance to win a decent race and build a pedigree that will matter when she retires. It is a quiet, professional approach to a horse who will matter far more to the breeding world than she ever will to the betting public.