Roberto Caro

The trainer, Adrian Paul Keatley, runs a busy yard up in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, that has sent out 42 winners already this season, so this is not a small operation. Keatley knows Roberto Caro well and describes him as something of a worrier — a horse who is hard on himself at home and burns nervous energy before he even gets to the track. That kind of temperament can work against a horse, but Keatley says that on his best days he is genuinely competitive, and points to a run at York where he finished fast on ground that did not suit him as evidence there is more to come. That effort was arguably unlucky.

His most recent win came at Chepstow in August 2025, which is now nine months ago and six races without a victory. The recent form — finishing third, fourth, third, fifth, then well beaten in the two before that — tells a more nuanced story than a losing run usually suggests. The thirds and fourths show he is mostly running well; he just has not managed to get his head in front. His regular jockey Oisin McSweeney has been in the saddle for 11 of his 20 races and won just 1 of them together, a win rate of roughly one in eleven, which is modest — though that may say more about the calibre of race than any lack of partnership.

Keatley is relaxed about where the horse is heading, and has mentioned Ayr's big summer meeting as a possible target, which would represent a step up in class and occasion. Whether Roberto Caro can rise to that kind of moment remains to be seen, but a trainer who has been firing in winners all season clearly believes the horse still has something to offer before the year is out.