Penelope Valentine

At four years old, Penelope Valentine is at the age where horses tend to settle into a pattern — what distances suit them, what tracks they like, what conditions bring out their best. The 1m1f to 1m2f range appears to be her sweet spot: she has won 1 from 3 races at those trips, a hit rate of 1 in 3, which is genuinely strong. It suggests that when the distance is right and the track is right — Wolverhampton in particular — she becomes a very different proposition.

The yard behind her is James Owen's operation in Newmarket, one of British racing's great training centres. Owen's team has sent out 204 winners this season alone, which speaks to an outfit that knows how to place horses in races they can win. Getting horses into the right contest at the right time is a skill, and Penelope Valentine's record hints that she has been placed thoughtfully. Her first career win came at Kempton Park on 19 February 2025, and she has added three more since — a steady accumulation rather than a sudden burst.

Her most regular partner in the saddle is Luke Morris, who has ridden her in 8 of her 26 races and won twice — a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides together. That is meaningfully better than her overall average, suggesting the partnership works. Morris is an experienced jockey with a sharp eye for pace, particularly on the all-weather tracks where Penelope Valentine tends to shine. With recent form reading 2-3-1 in her last meaningful runs and a race just yesterday, she is clearly in an active spell — and if Wolverhampton comes around again, it would be unwise to look past her.