Bold Suitor

His last six runs read 1-2-4-3-4-2, a sequence that shows real consistency at the sharp end of a race. Most tellingly, he won at Lingfield Park just this week — as recently as a single day ago — which means he heads into the immediate future with momentum and freshness in equal measure. That first career win only came back in September 2024 at Chelmsford, so everything Bold Suitor has achieved has been packed into a relatively short window, and he appears to be peaking rather than fading.

Most of those wins have come at Class 6 level — the entry-level tier of British racing — where he has won 4 of his 18 races at that grade, a win rate of around 1 in 5, or roughly 22%. That is a solid return, and it tells you he is competitive and reliable at his level without necessarily being a horse who has outgrown the company he keeps. He also has a genuine soft spot for Wolverhampton, where he has won 2 of his 5 visits. Winning 40% of your races at a single track is the kind of number that makes trainers book the horsebox without hesitation.

The partnership with jockey Georgia Dobie is clearly central to what makes Bold Suitor tick. Together they have won 5 races from 24 shared outings — that is 1 in every 5 rides, a 21% win rate — which is better than his overall career average and suggests something clicks between horse and rider. Craig Benton, who trains Bold Suitor from his yard in Epsom, Surrey, has had 5 winners this season, and this horse has clearly been carrying a meaningful share of that tally.

Bold Suitor will never be a horse people watch on a major festival stage, but he is something arguably more likeable: a seasoned, dependable performer who turns up, competes hard, and wins his fair share. At nine, he is showing no signs of slowing down.