Seven Questions

That Class 1 victory came at Newmarket in May 2024, and by Cowell's own admission, it wasn't a straightforward morning's work getting him there. Seven Questions spent the night before the race stabled at the racecourse itself — just half a mile from his own yard — because loading him onto a horsebox winds him up to the point of being genuinely dangerous. He arrived in the paddock trying to kick everyone. Cowell described him as "as quirky as they come." The fact that a horse this difficult in his routine can show up and win against the best in Britain says a great deal about the talent underneath the temperament.

His recent form makes for interesting reading: two poor runs sandwiched a sequence of a win, a third, and a fourth, and then this week he went and won at Goodwood — his most recent race, run just yesterday. That Chester run before Goodwood was particularly telling. Cowell spoke glowingly about it even though Seven Questions finished fourth, saying he showed "phenomenal speed" from an awkward inside draw and ran what his trainer called "an absolute blinder." When a trainer is that enthusiastic about a fourth place, it usually means the horse is building toward something.

Cowell, whose yard has sent out 24 winners already this season, believes Seven Questions is operating well below the level he could be competitive at — his phrase was "frighteningly well handicapped." That's trainer-speak for a horse whose official rating hasn't kept up with his ability, which in theory gives him a significant edge over rivals in the races ahead. Regular jockey Callum Shepherd has ridden him in 9 of his 29 races and they've won together once, but the partnership is clearly a trusted one. With a fresh Goodwood win on his CV and a trainer who sounds genuinely excited about what's coming, Seven Questions looks like a horse worth following closely right now.