El Gavilan

The five-year-old is trained by Clive Boultbee-Brooks at a small yard in Woolhope, Herefordshire, and this has been a good season for the team — nine winners sent out so far. El Gavilan has been one of their most consistent contributors. His overall record reads three wins and seven places from 14 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 5 outings, which is respectable. But strip it back to his last six races and the picture sharpens considerably: three wins, a second place, and only one blank. He has gone from a horse who was finding his feet to one who is genuinely difficult to beat when conditions suit.

Those conditions matter enormously here. On fast, dry ground El Gavilan has not won once. On soft or heavy ground he is unbeaten in three. That is the kind of split that tells a trainer exactly when to run a horse, and Boultbee-Brooks has been getting it right. El Gavilan opened his winning account at Ffos Las in January 2026 and returned there in February to win again, just seven weeks ago. He raced as recently as yesterday, so he is in the thick of an active campaign right now.

Jockey Richard Patrick has been aboard for ten of his 14 races and the pair have won twice together — a 20% win rate, 2 wins from 10 rides, which tracks closely with El Gavilan's overall record. His best performances tend to come over distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, where he has won 2 of his 4 races at that range. He competes mostly at Class 4 level, the solid middle tier of British racing, and has won 2 of 7 races there. The formula is becoming clear: Ffos Las, a wet forecast, and somewhere between a mile and three-quarters and two miles, and El Gavilan is the one to beat.