Kashchei

Before that win, the numbers told the story of a horse who was competitive but not quite getting the job done: 1 win from 12 races, with 4 placed efforts tucked in alongside. That's a win rate of roughly 1 in every 12 races, which won't set the world alight on paper, but his recent form has actually been improving. Scrolling back through his last six outings — finishing 6th, 6th, 7th, 5th, then 3rd — there's a clear upward curve that makes the Kelso win feel less like a fluke and more like the natural endpoint of a horse gradually hitting his stride.

What's interesting here is the Scottish connection. Kashchei is trained by Cian Collins out of Navan in County Meath, Ireland, which means the team is happy to travel for their horses when they believe the opportunity is right — and at Kelso, they got their reward. Collins has had a productive season, sending out 20 winners from the yard already, so this isn't a small operation making up the numbers. When a yard of that activity targets a race and wins it, it tends to mean someone has done their homework.

At 6 years old, Kashchei is in what should be the prime of his racing life, and a first win in the book changes everything. Horses that have been close for a while can sometimes click once that confidence comes, and it will be well worth watching where Collins sends him next.