Nardaran

Start with the jockey. When Harry Cobden climbs aboard, something clicks. The pair have raced together 7 times and won 3 of them — that is a win rate of 43%, or nearly 3 in every 7 races. For context, most jockey-and-horse partnerships would be thrilled with half that. Cobden is one of the leading jump jockeys in Britain, and it is clear he and Nardaran have developed a genuine understanding. Paul Nicholls, meanwhile, is one of the most decorated trainers in the sport, and his Ditcheat operation has been in fine form this season — 95 winners and counting.

The ground matters enormously with this horse. On slightly wet or soft conditions, Nardaran has won 2 of 4 races — a 50% win rate that is extraordinary. Find it on a day when recent rain has softened the track, and it becomes a completely different animal. Its last victory came at Sandown Park in November 2025, and its first career win arrived at Taunton in April 2025 — two courses with very different characters, which suggests genuine versatility rather than a horse that only thrives in one setting.

The one honest caveat is the step up in class. Nardaran has run in 4 of the top-tier Class 2 races and has yet to win at that level — 0 from 4. That is not a disgrace, because those races are genuinely tough, but it does suggest that for now this is a horse that tends to compete just below the very highest grade. Its recent form shows a couple of unplaced runs either side of a gap, which makes the next outing — coming just 15 days after its last race — one to watch with fresh eyes. Nicholls does not run horses for fun, and a yard firing out 95 winners in a season tends to know exactly when its horses are ready.