Absolutely Doyen

The numbers tell a striking story. In 10 career races, this six-year-old has won 5 and placed in 7, giving it a 50% win rate — essentially a coin flip in its favour every time it lines up. More impressive still is the recent trajectory: four wins from its last six races, with the two blips being a third place and a finish down the field that looks increasingly like an anomaly. That sequence includes back-to-back wins in top-tier Class 2 races — one at Wincanton on Boxing Day 2025, and another at Musselburgh on 31 January 2026. These are not modest, low-key events. Class 2 races sit near the very top of British racing, and winning two of them in the space of five weeks is the kind of form that makes people start paying attention.

Nicholls has spoken about a horse that has genuinely transformed since arriving at his yard. He came in knowing little about him, but a settling-in period, improved jumping, and stepping up in distance have unlocked something. The trainer believes Absolutely Doyen is still getting better — physically and mentally — and has even suggested that his current official rating of 135 might end up looking like a bargain. In racing, when a trainer of Nicholls' stature hints that a horse may be "very well handicapped," that is worth noting. It means the horse's official weight allowance has not yet caught up with how good he actually is.

Nicholls' yard has sent out 92 winners this season alone, so this is not an operation easily impressed by modest form. The fact that Absolutely Doyen has earned a mention in those terms speaks volumes. He races next, and the question now is whether the form holds up as the competition gets stiffer. If Nicholls is right that there is more improvement to come, the answer could be very interesting indeed.