Jewel Eyed Judy

That belief got its reward at Leicester on 17 November 2025, when Jewel Eyed Judy finally broke her duck. It was her first career win and, at Class 5 level — the entry-level tier of British racing — it was hard-earned. She has run eight times at that level and won once, a rate of about 1 in every 8 tries, so it was not a foregone conclusion even in the most accessible grade of race. Still, a win is a win, and for a horse that had been placed just once before that, Leicester clearly suited her.

What makes the jockey picture slightly unusual is the relationship with James Turner, who has partnered her in 10 of her 12 races without ever getting her to the winner's enclosure. That is not necessarily a knock on either horse or rider — plenty of combinations take time to click, and the win in November came with someone else in the saddle — but it is a curious footnote. The trainer herself is hardly short of firepower: Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies have sent out 61 winners this season, so they know how to get horses to win. Jewel Eyed Judy just takes a little more coaxing than most.

Her recent form reads 9-–-4-–-4-1 from the last six runs, which tells its own story. Those dashes represent non-completions of some kind, and the finishing positions either side of them are mid-pack at best. The 1 at the end — that Leicester win — stands out like a bright light in an otherwise unremarkable sequence. Whether she can build on it is the question. At six, she is not young, but she is not done either, and a yard with 61 winners on the board this season is not one that gives up easily on a horse that has shown it can find the front.