Jigoro

What really makes Jigoro tick is the ground. On wet, muddy days when other horses are slipping and struggling, he thrives — winning 2 of his 4 races in those conditions, a remarkable 50% win rate. That's not luck; that's a horse who genuinely loves getting his boots dirty. His trainer Gordon Elliott, whose yard at Longwood has sent out 209 winners this season alone — a staggering number that speaks to the scale and quality of the operation — spotted early that there was more to this horse than first appeared. Back in October 2024, Elliott flagged him as a potential dark horse stepping up to chasing, saying quietly but confidently: "He's better than you've seen so far."

That assessment looks well-founded now. His most recent win came at Gowran Park just seven weeks ago, in March 2026, where dropping back in distance and finding the best of the soft ground proved the perfect combination. The trainer's assistant Ian Amond noted afterwards that he "won well," which in racing shorthand means it wasn't as tight as it might have looked. Regular partner Jack Kennedy, who has ridden him in 7 of his 18 races and won once together — roughly 1 in 7 — was reportedly delighted after his first career win at Navan in December 2023, with Elliott noting then that a faster pace would have suited him even better. That's the kind of detail that suggests a horse with untapped potential: he won despite conditions not being ideal for him.

With recent form reading a win, a third, and a sixth from his last few outings, Jigoro heads into his next race in decent shape. On the right day — wet ground, right trip, right pace — he looks capable of making the frame again, and possibly more.