My Gift To You

James Owen bought him for £8,000 at the Ascot sales, at a point when the horse had shown very little to suggest he was worth the trip to the auction ring. Owen spotted something — the looks, the breeding — and was quickly vindicated. The horse won on his first start for the yard over hurdles, won a chase next time out, then came back from a break and won again. A £8,000 purchase paying its way that fast is the stuff that makes trainers look very clever indeed.

The most striking number in his record is at Warwick, where he has won 2 of just 3 visits. Winning two-thirds of your races at any track is remarkable — it suggests genuine affinity rather than coincidence, and he was back in the winner's enclosure there as recently as eight weeks ago. His regular partner is Mr Alex Chadwick, who has ridden him to 4 wins from 13 races together — a win rate of 31%, or nearly 1 in every 3 rides. That is the kind of combination that trainers stick with for good reason.

Chadwick has been candid about what makes this horse tick. He described him as a horse "you can't disappoint" — meaning he needs to be ridden with confidence and given his head. A visor has helped sharpen his focus, and while he has a tendency to do too much early in a race, Chadwick has suggested that energy actually works in his favour rather than against him. His most recent form reads 1-6-9-1-5-3 going back six races, with two wins in that sequence — including that Warwick victory — which suggests he is in good heart. For a horse who cost £8,000 and had shown almost nothing before James Owen got hold of him, My Gift To You has turned out to be exactly what his name promises.