My Gift To You

He's now an 8-year-old with a 24% win rate across his career — that's roughly 1 in every 4 races — and he has won 9 from 38 in total. The last 6 races tell you he's in the form of his life: two wins in that stretch, and he raced just yesterday, so he's very much a live, active horse right now. His most recent victory came at Warwick three weeks ago, and that track deserves a mention of its own: he has won 2 of his 3 races there, which is an extraordinary hit rate. Some horses simply suit certain tracks — the bends, the ground, the layout — and Warwick appears to suit this one perfectly.

His regular partner is jockey Alex Chadwick, and together they've built something of a working relationship worth noting. They've combined 4 times in 12 races together, winning roughly 1 in every 3 — a strong return. Chadwick knows this horse's quirks intimately, and those quirks are part of what makes him fun to follow. He's described as a horse who "doesn't have a bad run in him" but who needs careful handling — he overraces if you let him, tends to do a bit too much up front, and apparently cannot be disappointed if he wants to be involved. A visor has helped focus him. Getting him to settle took time, but when it clicks, as it did at Sedgefield when he led from a long way out and held on, the results speak for themselves.

He typically competes at Class 4 level — solid, competitive racing without quite reaching the top tier — where he wins 3 from every 18, or about 17% of the time. For a horse bought for £8,000 who showed almost nothing before joining this yard, that's a career that has far exceeded expectations.