Charlus

Dan Skelton trains Charlus out of his yard in Alcester, Warwickshire, and Skelton is not a man short of winners — his team has sent out 194 this season alone, which is a remarkable volume and a sign of one of the most productive operations in the country. When a trainer of that calibre says he was genuinely surprised by a horse, it's worth paying attention. Skelton has spoken openly about how Naas caught him off guard: Charlus had been in-and-out in his work at home, so the expectation was a decent run rather than an eye-catching one. What he got was a horse that jumped fluently and with real confidence — which matters enormously in jump racing, and which Skelton found particularly striking given that Charlus originally came from flat racing. A horse crossing from the flat and immediately jumping like he'd been doing it for years is unusual, and it clearly stuck in his trainer's mind.

Since that January win, though, Charlus hasn't been able to back it up. Fifteen months without a victory, and his last six races read mostly as near-misses and disappointing efforts, with a couple of placed finishes mixed in. He raced just yesterday, so he's very much in the thick of his season right now. The most encouraging angle is his record at a distance of a mile and six furlongs to two miles — he's won one from five at those trips, which works out to roughly one in every five races, a noticeably better return than his overall record of one win from every eleven. That suggests the right distance at least isn't a mystery.

Whether Charlus can find that Naas form again is the question. He has shown he's capable of a moment worth remembering — the challenge now is turning one impressive afternoon into something more consistent.