Obito

David O'Meara trains him out of Upper Helmsley in North Yorkshire, and this is a yard very much in the business of winning races — 107 winners already this season alone. O'Meara described Obito early in the year as a big, scopey horse who tends to get a little fired up, which is trainer-speak for a horse with a lot of energy that needs to be managed carefully. Ride him too aggressively and he burns himself out; ride him cold and patient, and there is something there. The trainer saw enough to believe he could develop into a decent horse as the season went on, and the results suggest he was right to be optimistic.

What the numbers do tell you is where and when Obito is most dangerous. On normal ground — not too wet, not too dry — he wins 2 from 7, which works out to 29%, or nearly 1 in every 3 races. That is a meaningful jump from his overall average and worth paying attention to. At distances between a mile-and-one and a mile-and-two, he has won 1 from 4, a 25% win rate that again outstrips his general record. He competes mostly at Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter end of the sport — and there he wins 2 from 6, or 1 in every 3. Put those conditions together and you have a horse that is genuinely competitive, not just making up the numbers.

His most recent win came at Ayr on 9 August 2025, and he raced just yesterday, so he is a horse in active campaigning. Interestingly, his regular partner Daniel Tudhope is still waiting for a winner together across seven rides, which adds a small subplot worth watching. The combination has placed plenty — those three runner-up finishes are evidence enough — but the breakthrough with Tudhope in the saddle has not quite come yet.