Palazzo Persico

What makes Palazzo Persico genuinely interesting is his disdain for the racing elite. Pitched into Class 5 races — the heart of the mid-range competitive ladder — he has managed zero wins from 16 attempts, suggesting that step up in quality has so far proved too steep. But lower down the card, where the gaps between horses narrow and racing craft counts for more, he becomes dangerous. He won his first race at Chelmsford in November 2023 and has since added five more, building a career record that speaks to a horse with a ceiling but also a floor.

Ground conditions appear to suit him equally well whether the track is dry or slow and muddy — he's won 2 from 10 on firm ground and 2 from 9 on softer conditions — so expect him to run with the same commitment regardless of the weather. Under regular jockey Hector Crouch, the record is modest: 1 win from 5 races together. Trained by Tony Carroll at Cropthorne in Worcestershire, Palazzo Persico remains an active competitor in a yard that has sent out 136 winners already this season, a testament to the strength of the operation around him.