Inox Allen

His record at the top level is harder work. Racing at Class 3 — one step below the biggest prizes in Britain — he has won just 1 of his 6 races at that level, which is about 1 in 6. That is a honest reflection of where he sits: talented enough to be asked those questions, but not always able to answer them. His trainer Lucinda Russell, who runs the operation at Milnathort alongside Michael Scudamore, was candid about it after Cheltenham recently, admitting that the course and the occasion was simply too much. The handicapper — the official who sets each horse a weight designed to make races competitive — has taken note of his better days and made life harder accordingly.

What has made a real difference is a piece of equipment: blinkers. Fitted to help a horse concentrate, they have noticeably improved the way he jumps, making him more accurate and committed through the fences. That kind of small change can be the difference between a horse that frustrates and one that delivers. His first win came at Hexham in November 2023, and his most recent at Perth in April 2025 — two northern tracks that suit the yard's philosophy of keeping a horse on familiar, manageable ground.

His best partnership is with jockey Patrick Wadge, who has ridden him to 2 wins from 5 races together — a win rate of 40%, which is genuinely excellent at this level. The plan now is straightforward: step back from the big occasions, head north, and let a horse who clearly still has something left prove it in the right company. With the blinkers on and the right track beneath him, Inox Allen remains a horse worth watching.