Tribal Chief

His record at Class 2 level, though, tells a more honest story: zero wins from five attempts at the top end. That's the ceiling he's been bumping his head against. But the team aren't discouraged — and with good reason. A surgical decision to geld him at the end of last winter was designed to help him grow up mentally, and by Menuisier's account it has worked. The horse that used to be green and distracted is now racing with a professionalism that wasn't there before, and the trainer believes the physical development hasn't finished either. This, in other words, is a horse still becoming himself.

His last win came at Goodwood in August 2025, and the way jockey Sean Levey described it was striking — a horse who picked up willingly, felt genuine, and left the impression there were more pounds to be found, particularly on softer ground. Levey went as far as saying Tribal Chief could go "quite high" off the back of it. Since then, the form has been patchier: a promising second and third, then a miserable run in France that turned out to have a reason behind it — he came home with a sore foot and an abscess that had likely been brewing on the day. A nightmare run at Newcastle followed, reportedly trapped on the rail with nowhere to go. Neither of those efforts should be taken at face value.

His most reliable partnership has been with Harry Davies, who has won 3 of their 5 races together — that's 60%, a remarkable hit rate that suggests the horse responds to a rider who knows him. First-career-win territory was Nottingham in June 2024, and the journey since has been the kind of gradual, sometimes frustrating development that Menuisier's yard clearly has the patience for — 20 winners already this season suggests a stable in good health. With wet ground coming as the year turns, and a jockey who thinks he can climb the ranks, Tribal Chief's most interesting chapter may still be ahead.