Nardaran

His record of 3 wins and 4 places from 13 races, a win rate of roughly 1 in every 4, sounds modest until you understand the journey behind it. His first win over jumps didn't come until April 2025 at Taunton, and even then it followed a genuinely dreadful run at Musselburgh in February — a race Nicholls puts down to a period when several horses at the yard were struggling. After that Taunton breakthrough, he ran in a top-level novice hurdle final at Sandown but was already past his best for the season, and it showed. Nicholls is candid about it: the horse was simply over the top by then. So they gave him a breathing operation and a long summer off.

That decision looks very smart now. Nardaran returned at Plumpton and won a hurdle race on what he clearly loves — slightly soft, wet ground — where his record now reads 2 wins from just 4 races, a 50% success rate that is exceptional by any measure. Harry Cobden, his regular partner, was self-critical afterwards, feeling he asked the horse to quicken too soon at the last, but was full of praise for how Nardaran responded regardless. Together, Cobden and Nardaran have a remarkable relationship on paper: 3 wins from 8 races, meaning they win roughly 1 in every 3 times out together.

The challenge now is stepping up in class. In four attempts at Class 2 level — some of the better races in Britain — Nardaran has yet to win. His recent run of six races without a victory underlines that the gap between a horse who wins nicely at a mid-tier level and one who can compete at the top is a real and stubborn one. But Nicholls's yard has sent out 92 winners already this season, which tells you everything about the standard of operation behind this horse. If the wet ground comes, and Cobden is in the saddle, Nardaran remains one to watch.