Alsakib

His career has had an interesting shape. He started out on the flat, winning at Chester in May 2023 before working his way up through a string of competitive Class 2 races at Windsor, Ascot and Newmarket over the following months. Then came that York success at the highest level — a genuine peak. Trainer Donald McCain, whose Cheshire yard has sent out 55 winners already this season, bought him specifically to bridge two worlds: competing on the flat and going jumping. McCain described him at the time as a horse of real calibre, bought with real excitement, and the results since suggest he was right to be enthusiastic.

The jumping chapter has already produced a notable story. At Musselburgh, jockey Theo Gillard found himself in serious trouble mid-race when the saddle slipped round the horse's side — he had to kick his leg free and cling on to stay aboard. That he and Alsakib still got the job done says something about both of them. And just this week, Alsakib won at Bangor-on-Dee, his most recent outing, confirming he remains in fine form.

One interesting wrinkle: Oisin Murphy, one of Britain's very best jockeys, has ridden him five times without winning. That is not a criticism of either horse or rider — top-level races are fiercely competitive — but it does underline that Alsakib tends to reserve his best for the right day and the right conditions. PJ McDonald, who rode him at York, put it simply after that big win: when you get the chance to ride a horse like this, you have to make the most of it. Alsakib, it seems, feels the same way.