I Shut That d'Or

Trained by Joe Tizzard at his yard in Milborne Port, Dorset — a stable that has sent out 58 winners already this season, so clearly knows how to place a horse — I Shut That d'Or has had an unusual road to where he is now. Early in his career he had a tooth growing into the bone of his jaw, which caused him to bolt during races. That is not a quirk you can train away; it is a genuine physical problem, and the improvement once it was resolved tells you something about how much talent was always there underneath the chaos.

The most striking number in his record is at Plumpton, the tight, undulating track in East Sussex. He has won 2 of his 3 races there, which works out to winning 2 in every 3 — an extraordinary return for any horse at any venue. Jockey Brendan Powell, who has ridden him in 12 of his 22 races and knows him well at home as well as on the track, has suggested the horse is never without a chance when the trainer finds the right race. At Plumpton, he consistently finds the right race.

His recent form reads 1-1-2-5-5-3 going back through his last six runs, which means two wins and a second before a pair of fifths and a third. The wins came in January 2025 and the two fifths suggest he has found things tougher since, but he has raced as recently as yesterday, so this is very much a horse still in the thick of it. His jockey Tom Cannon noted after an earlier win that he needed further than two miles and settled beautifully once the jumping got underway — a reminder that placement matters enormously with horses like this. When the race suits him, he sees it out well. When it does not, he finds his limitations. Most of his races have been at Class 4 level — solid, competitive racing without being the very top tier — and he has won 2 of his 9 races at that level, roughly 1 in every 4 or 5. Consistent, honest, and occasionally brilliant at Plumpton.