Seven Questions

He is five years old, trained by Robert Cowell at Newmarket, and is very much a live force right now. He won at Goodwood just two weeks ago, finished fourth at Chester not long before that in a run his trainer described as an "absolute blinder" — showing sharp, natural speed from a difficult inside draw — and raced again just yesterday. Cowell is having a productive season with 24 winners on the board, and he believes Seven Questions is particularly well placed in the races he is being targeted at. "Frighteningly well handicapped," he said recently, which in racing means the horse carries a weight rating that gives him a genuine edge over his rivals.

What makes the Newmarket win in May 2024 especially memorable is the chaos that surrounded it. Seven Questions is, by his trainer's own admission, "as quirky as they come" — so wound up by travelling that the team left him overnight at the racecourse the night before the race rather than box him in on the day. He spent the night half a mile from his own stable, was saddled an hour before the race, and was apparently trying to kick everyone in sight. He then went out and won one of the biggest races on the calendar. It is the kind of story that would feel far-fetched if it were fiction.

His most regular jockey is Callum Shepherd, who has ridden him in 9 of his 30 races and won once. Given the horse's temperament and the quality of company he keeps, that single win together actually says something about how difficult Seven Questions can be to get right on the day. When everything falls into place, though, he is clearly capable of beating the best.