Clotilda

That belief was rewarded at Huntingdon in December 2024, when Clotilda won for the first time in Britain. Paul Nicholls had expected it — "we expected Clotilda to win," he said afterwards — and the manner of the victory gave him real cause for optimism. She loves wet, muddy ground, will gallop all day, and was expected to improve as trips got longer. The trainer also noted that she had arrived jumping fences in France and needed time to sharpen her technique over hurdles; racing somewhere she could tuck in behind a strong pace rather than lead suited her far better.

Since then, however, it has been a 16-month wait for a second win. Her record across 12 races stands at 1 win and 6 places — roughly 1 win in every 12 races — and her most recent six runs have produced just three placed efforts and no victories. She ran at Chepstow last month clearly needing the race, so there is at least some context for the flat performances. Regular jockey Harry Cobden has been in the saddle for nine of her races and found the winner's enclosure just once together, a rate of roughly 1 in every 9 outings.

Still, Clotilda runs for one of the most powerful yards in British racing. Paul Nicholls, based at Ditcheat in Somerset, has sent out 92 winners already this season — a remarkable number that reflects a training operation firing on all cylinders. A five-year-old horse with soft ground, a strong pace to follow, and a yard that backs her to deliver is not one to dismiss. She may not be easy to catch in the winner's photo, but when conditions fall right, Clotilda is clearly a horse worth watching.