Captain Cool

Trained by Jennie Candlish at her yard in Basford, Staffordshire, Captain Cool operates in the mid-range tier of British racing — Class 4 level — and it is worth noting that his two wins have both come when he has stepped up or been placed more carefully. Candlish's yard has sent out 61 winners already this season, which is a serious tally and speaks to an outfit that knows how to get a horse ready to run its best. When a trainer is firing in winners at that rate, their horses tend to turn up fit and purposeful.

His most regular jockey is Sean Quinlan, who has ridden him in 5 of his 11 races and won once aboard him — a rate of 1 in every 5 rides together. The partnership clicked first at Sedgefield back in October 2025, and the chemistry clearly still has mileage left in it. There was a wobble somewhere in the recent run of form — that dash in the sequence flags a race where he unseated his rider, something Candlish has been relaxed about, putting it down to a simple misstep rather than anything physical. Before that, he had run right-handed at Musselburgh and found it not to his liking, which is a useful piece of intelligence for anyone following him.

What makes Captain Cool genuinely interesting going forward is where Candlish plans to take him next. She has spoken about pointing him towards chasing — essentially switching him from jumping hurdles to jumping the bigger, more solid fences — and believes he is built for it. In her words, he is going to make a lovely novice chaser next season. That kind of quiet confidence from a trainer sending out winners at pace is worth paying attention to. He may be modest enough right now, but the story could be just getting started.