Coco Hill

The career record tells an honest story: 2 wins from 38 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 19 outings. Both victories came in a tight six-week window back in autumn 2022 — first at Chepstow in September, then at Great Yarmouth in October. Since then, nothing. That Great Yarmouth win was 42 months ago, which in racing terms is a very long time indeed. A horse that peaked at six weeks old and has spent the better part of four years chasing that feeling is not a comfortable story to tell.

The ground conditions matter here, and they tell one of the few genuinely encouraging things about Coco Hill. On wet or slightly soft ground, this horse has won 2 of just 3 races — that is a 67% win rate, which is extraordinary by any measure. The problem is that such conditions do not come around every week, and when they do, everything else has to fall into place too. On normal or faster ground, the results simply have not followed.

Recent form offers little comfort either. In the last six races, the best finish is a third, and the most recent run ended without a placing at all. Regular jockey Finley Marsh has partnered Coco Hill nine times without a win between them. At Class 6 — the lowest level of British racing — the record reads 0 wins from 15 races, which suggests this is a horse that finds ways to get beaten even in the most accessible company.

What keeps it interesting is that Wintle's yard is clearly in decent shape this season, and wet weather could theoretically unlock something the form suggests is still in there. But at 6 years old, with the last win receding further into memory every fortnight, Coco Hill is the kind of horse that tests a racing fan's optimism. Quietly placed, occasionally threatening, never quite delivering.