Talis Evolvere

The highlight reel is genuinely strong. He won at Newcastle in March 2024 and then again at Chelmsford in December 2024, both Class 2 contests, both on artificial surfaces in the colder months when plenty of horses have already been put away for the winter. His trainer Richard Hannon, who operates one of the most productive yards in the country — 118 winners already this season — had him pencilled in for a return to Newcastle at Easter, the same big mile race he won last year. A minor health concern ruled that out, but the plan tells you everything about where this horse sits in the team's thinking: he is not a horse they are trying to manage down the levels. He is a horse they believe can win valuable prizes.

The ground matters here. On normal conditions, Talis Evolvere wins 4 from 14 races — that is 29%, a genuinely striking number that works out to better than 1 win in every 4 attempts. When the ground changes, that sharpness seems to go with it. His most recent win came at Southwell in January 2026, around five months ago, and his last six runs have produced no victories, with a couple of second places the best he has managed. Hannon's view is straightforward: the horse is working his way back to a mark where he can win again, and the target is the Hunt Cup, one of the most famous big-field handicaps in the calendar.

Joe Leavy has ridden him more than anyone else — ten times together, one win — and the partnership has not quite ignited yet. But with a trainer of Hannon's calibre targeting specific big occasions, and a horse with proven form at the top level, Talis Evolvere is very much a name to watch as summer arrives and the ground firms up.