Pour Les Filles

The first win came at Leopardstown on St. Stephen's Day 2022, trained at the time by Gordon Elliott, who was clear-eyed about what he had on his hands. Elliott felt the horse had done well just to get back on top that day after losing the better ground late in the race, and saw a long-term prospect worth protecting rather than pushing. That patience was interrupted by injury — the horse missed most of last season — and a run at Cheltenham over three miles exposed the limits of his stamina at the top level. The decision was made to bring him back in trip.

That is where Mickey Bowen comes in. Bowen's yard has been in excellent form this season, sending out 47 winners, and Pour Les Filles has fitted right in since arriving five or six weeks before his last win. Bowen was openly impressed from the start — everything the horse did in those early weeks suggested he was built for chasing, and he proved it with a win at Ffos Las in January. Bowen noted he was a little green early in the race, the kind of rustiness you see from a horse still learning, but once he found his rhythm he was flawless. The Ffos Las win is exactly the sort of form a trainer builds a plan around.

What really stands out is how well Pour Les Filles handles wet and muddy conditions. Two wins from just three races on soft or heavy ground — that is a 67% win rate, meaning he wins roughly 2 out of every 3 times the ground comes up testing. For a horse racing through a British winter, that is a serious weapon. His regular jockey Jack Kennedy has partnered him in 5 of his 13 races, winning once together, and the combination will be worth watching if conditions are in their favour.

He raced just yesterday, so the immediate next chapter is still being written. But with a yard in form, a clear preference for wet ground, and a trainer who already believes he can go further in trip over fences, Pour Les Filles looks like a horse on an upward curve.