Impose Toi

The numbers tell a remarkable story. Impose Toi wins roughly 41 in every 100 races he enters — more than 2 in every 5 — which is exceptional at any level, let alone when you are regularly taking on the top horses in Britain. His partnership with jockey Nico de Boinville is particularly potent: the two have won 6 of their 11 races together, a staggering 55% win rate, more than 1 in every 2 starts. In the sport's toughest company — Class 1, the very top tier — he has won 2 from 6, which works out at 33%, or roughly 1 in 3. At that level, that is outstanding.

The autumn and winter of 2025 has been the making of him. Three wins in five weeks — at Aintree in November, Newbury later that same month, then Ascot in December — showed that stepping up to three miles unlocked something new. The Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot, a race steeped in history, was the crowning moment: ridden with precision by de Boinville, Impose Toi was sent out in front at exactly the right moment. Henderson is clear that timing is everything with him — he does not do much when he hits the front, so the jockey has to get it exactly right, and at Ascot, he did. A defeat at Cheltenham shortly after has been quietly set aside by the team, who point to the heavy, wet ground and a 6lb weight concession to the winner as reasons to ignore it entirely.

Henderson's yard at Upper Lambourn has sent out 85 winners this season alone, so it is not short of talent. But there is something about Impose Toi — honest, tough, quietly relentless — that has clearly earned a special place. With the Cheltenham Festival on the horizon, a horse who wins roughly 2 in every 5 races and has just won back-to-back top-level races looks exactly like the sort of horse you want in your corner.