Roman Dragon

Chester is a famously tight, left-handed track — almost oval in shape, with bends that demand a horse to be nimble, adaptable, and comfortable in close quarters. Roman Dragon clearly thrives on every bit of it. Across 17 races there, he has won 6 times, which works out to winning more than 1 in every 3 — a completely different animal from the 1-in-16 record he carries in his more typical class of race elsewhere. Palmer has been candid about it: the horse loves Chester, and that love is worth more than any rating or draw. In his words, it's "worth half a dozen."

The big occasion has not passed Roman Dragon by either. In August 2025 he won a Class 1 race at Chester — one of the very top races in Britain — having already taken a Class 2 there back in May of the same year. Palmer noted after that top-level win that this was a horse who had gone into a prestigious stakes race as what you might call a serial specialist, and pulled it off anyway. The trainer was honest that the ceiling may be close, but reaching it at Chester feels entirely appropriate for a horse who has made the place his own.

His current form backs that up. Two wins from his last six races, with his most recent victory coming just this week — at Chester, naturally. He is regularly partnered by Hayley Turner, who has won 2 of their 6 races together, a rate of 1 in 3. Palmer's yard, based nearby in Cheshire, has been in excellent shape this season with 66 winners sent out. Roman Dragon is not carrying the whole stable on his back, but at a track just down the road from home, he remains their star turn — a horse who turns up at the same place, does what he always does, and somehow makes it feel remarkable every time.