Yokkell

The most striking entry on Yokkell's record is Dundalk, where it has won 3 times from just 9 visits. That is 1 win in every 3 races at the same track, which is the kind of number that makes trainers keep coming back. Most horses find a course that suits them; very few dominate it so consistently. Whether it is the surface, the layout, or simply a place where everything clicks, Dundalk brings out the best in this horse.

Adrian Wintle trains Yokkell from his yard at Westbury-On-Severn in Gloucestershire, and it has been a productive season — 30 winners sent out already, which tells you this is a busy, functioning operation with horses in form. Jockey Siobhan Rutledge has the best relationship with Yokkell of anyone who has ridden it: 3 wins from 11 races together gives her a win rate of 27%, or roughly 1 in every 4 rides. That is nearly double Yokkell's overall average, and it is the kind of partnership that makes a trainer think carefully before putting anyone else in the saddle.

Yokkell won at Bath just this week — its first win since picking up its career debut at Tipperary back in August 2022, though the record since then tells a story of consistent placing rather than regular winning. The recent run of form reads 1-4-5-3-6-6 from the last six races, so the Bath win was a genuine upturn after a couple of quieter efforts. With the horse having raced just yesterday, it is clearly fit, active, and in the hands of a yard that knows how to keep horses sharp. At 7, with 52 races of experience, Yokkell is exactly the kind of battle-hardened performer that can catch you off guard when conditions fall right.