Boombawn

The partnership with jockey Harry Skelton has been central to the story. Together they have won 5 of their 22 races — that's roughly 1 in every 4 — and those wins include a Class 1 at Kempton in October 2022 and another Class 1 at Wincanton in November 2024, a result that earned the yard a £75,000 prize. Trainer Dan Skelton, speaking after that Wincanton win, stopped short of calling it top-class form but knew exactly what it was worth: "We can't have a bad season — Boombawn has just won a £75,000 race." That is a man who understands his horse's place in the world.

Ground matters enormously to Boombawn. On normal conditions, the horse has won 6 of 18 races — that's 1 in 3, which is a striking conversion rate at this level. Kempton Park has become something of a home from home, with 2 wins from just 5 visits, and Skelton has spoken openly about how carefully the yard targets the right conditions. When wet ground forced a change of plan ahead of Chepstow one autumn, he sent the horse home for a month rather than run it wrong — patient, considered management that the results have justified.

The recent form, however, tells a different story. Boombawn has not won in its last 6 races, finishing no better than third in that sequence. Dan Skelton is candid about why: the handicapper has pushed the horse's rating high enough that winning Class 1 races consistently is simply very hard. But that is not a crisis — that is the natural ceiling for a horse who has earned its place at the top table. Still active, still competing at the highest level, and with Aintree, Ayr and Sandown all floated as possible targets, Boombawn at nine has plenty left to say.