Garde Des Champs

What makes Garde Des Champs genuinely interesting is Perth. This is his course, his sanctuary. He has won both his races there — one on 24 June 2023 and most recently on 13 July 2025, nearly a year and a half ago. From 21 races at Perth, 2 wins is not a dominant win rate, but it is where he saves his victories. He also shows a clear preference for normal ground conditions: 2 wins from 25 races suggests he handles standard surfaces better than anything softer or firmer. In Class 4 company — mid-tier racing — he wins roughly 1 in every 10 races, which is double his overall average and hints at a horse content at this level rather than constantly overreaching.

Garde Des Champs is trained by Lucinda Russell & Michael Scudamore's yard in Milnathort, a top Scottish operation that sent out 49 winners this season. Derek Fox, his most frequent rider with 10 races together, has not tasted victory on him, though Fox is not where the issue lies. At ten years old, this is a horse who has earned his living and found his place. He races at roughly the same level, on the same course, with the same temperament — and every now and then, on a good day at Perth on normal ground, he remembers how to win.