Peaky Boy

That Cheltenham record is the centrepiece of everything interesting about this horse. His overall career reads four wins and seven places from 11 races — he has finished in the frame in over a third of his starts, winning roughly 1 in every 3 races across his career. He also has a strong preference for normal ground conditions, winning 2 of his 3 races on a standard surface. The trainer's view backs this up — the yard believes he is better when the ground is on the quicker side, which is worth keeping in mind as the season progresses.

There is, however, a puzzle in the recent form. Peaky Boy has not won in his last six races, and his most recent outings show finishing positions of tenth and twelfth twice over — a long way back. His last win came at Cheltenham in November 2024, now 17 months ago. The yard, now run by Jonjo and A J O'Neill — a stable that has sent out 51 winners this season — has been candid about why. The horse wasn't right in the spring, suffered a setback in the autumn, and simply hasn't been firing. Crucially, he only raced yesterday, so whatever has been troubling him, he is clearly back in action.

The trainer's comments are worth sitting with. There is genuine belief that a lot of his best racing is still ahead of him, and that three-mile races in the top handicap company at Cheltenham represent the target when conditions suit. A horse with a Cheltenham win rate of 50% and a career total nudging toward decent prize money is not one to write off on the basis of a difficult spell. The bones of something good are clearly there — the question is simply whether he can rediscover the form that made him look so promising not so long ago.