Tricky Tel

For context, a 44% win rate across a career means Tricky Tel has won nearly half of every race he has entered — 4 wins and 5 places from just 9 races — which is an outstanding return at any level. Two of those wins have come in Class 2 races, meaning he has already been competing in and beating some of the better fields in British racing while still only three years old.

He is trained by Hugo Palmer, whose yard is based in Malpas, Cheshire — conveniently close to Chester — and Palmer's operation has been in strong form, having sent out 67 winners already this season. After Tricky Tel's first Chester win in May 2025, Palmer was candid about what he thought he had on his hands: he said the horse had shown so much ability at home that the yard genuinely fancied him, and that despite being raw and still learning his trade, he had been almost unnervingly professional from the starting gates. Jockey Silvestre De Sousa, who rode him that day, called him a horse with a lot of ability despite his small frame, noting he travelled well even in a messy race where the horse half stumbled at the start.

Palmer has also hinted at what comes next. He suggested Chester's five furlongs might be slightly short of Tricky Tel's best, and that six furlongs would suit him better — which is an intriguing prospect given how well he has already performed at the shorter trip. Sandown and the National Stakes were mentioned as possible targets on the way to the Coventry, two of the better opportunities for a young horse showing this kind of early promise. If he can replicate his Chester dominance on a more conventional track, there is clearly a very good horse here.