Rocheval

His first win came at Aintree in November 2023, and he followed it up with another at Carlisle in March 2024. That Carlisle run stuck in the memory of Peter Scudamore, assistant trainer at the yard, who described Rocheval as probably the loveliest juvenile they had put through those races — and was particularly taken by how the horse responded after making a mistake at the second-last fence, still finding plenty to win. That is not nothing. Horses that lose their confidence after a mistake often drift out of contention; horses that dig in tend to be worth following.

Since that Carlisle win, though, it has been a frustrating 26 months. Rocheval has not won in his last six races, with a string of fourth and sixth-place finishes suggesting a horse who is competing but not quite getting there. The trainer has been candid about why: injury niggles have disrupted his progress, and work on his back over the summer has only recently started to bear fruit. The word from the yard — and they have sent out 49 winners already this season, so they clearly know what a horse in form looks like — is that this work has genuinely unlocked something, and that Rocheval may be better placed in the weights than the record currently suggests.

His regular partner in the saddle is Patrick Wadge, who has ridden him nine times and won on three of those occasions — a win rate of 33%, or 1 in every 3 rides together. That is a meaningful partnership. When the right race comes around at Class 4 level, with Wadge in the saddle and that back feeling better, there is a genuine argument that Rocheval has been quietly setting up a winning return.