Donnacha

The eight-year-old has built a career record of 6 wins and 17 places from 20 races, meaning he has finished in the top three in almost every single race he has ever run. That is a remarkable level of consistency. His win rate of 30% — roughly 3 in every 10 races — puts him well above the average, and his recent form of 2-1-2-2-3-1 tells you this horse is very much in the thick of things right now, not winding down.

The headline achievement is a Class 1 win at Cheltenham in January 2026. For context, Class 1 races are the top tier of British racing — the ones that get televised, the ones trainers and owners dream about. Cheltenham itself is the most famous jumping venue in the world. Donnacha going there and winning one of those races is the equivalent of a local club musician selling out the Royal Albert Hall. It is the kind of result that defines a career. He first announced himself at Chepstow in October 2023, and has been steadily climbing the ladder since.

He also has a particular affinity with Exeter racecourse, winning 2 of his 4 races there — a 50% win rate at a single track is the sort of record that makes punters pay very close attention whenever his name appears in the entries. The team is based at Stoodleigh in Devon, run by trainer Nigel Hawke, whose yard has sent out 9 winners already this season. James Davies rides him most often, and together they have won 2 from 6 — a win rate of 33%, or roughly 1 in 3, which is a strong partnership by any measure.

The one nuance worth noting is that Donnacha tends to race at Class 3 level — one step below the very top — and has won just 1 from 8 at that grade, a 12% win rate. His big Cheltenham win came at a higher level, which suggests he may actually be better suited to the more prestigious occasions than the routine ones. Some horses rise to a crowd. Donnacha, raced just yesterday and still very much in form, looks like one of them.