Mark's Choice

Current trainer Gemma Tutty is candid about the fact she only got hold of him late in his career, but that hasn't stopped her making the most of him. Her yard at Osmotherley in North Yorkshire has sent out 20 winners this season, and Mark's Choice has been part of that story. He won three times at Ripon last year alone, and his most recent win came there in September 2025. Tutty has described how he barely does a thing at home in training, then arrives at Ripon and simply comes alive — which is either endearing or slightly maddening depending on how you look at it.

The horse clearly has a type: normal conditions suit him best, where he's won 4 of 15 races (27%), and he tends to operate at Class 4, the solid mid-tier of British racing, where he's won 4 from 17. Recent form has been sharp too — two wins from his last six races, with finishes of 1-1-15-6 among the highlights. He raced just yesterday, which gives you a sense of how busy a ten-year-old he remains.

What gives this story a lovely extra dimension is that Ripon has named a race after him. That is not a common honour — tracks don't hand out commemorative races lightly — and Tutty has him entered at Ripon on Friday in a memorial race, hoping he can add to his own legend at the track that made him famous. William Pyle, who rides him most often, has one win from six tries together (17%), but when horse and course align, form lines and partnerships tend to matter rather less. Mark's Choice at Ripon is simply its own category.