Saratoga

The sequence started at Listowel in September 2025, and has built to something genuinely impressive. In March 2026, Saratoga won a Class 1 race at Cheltenham — one of the biggest occasions in British racing — and then followed it up with another win at Punchestown just this week. Three from three, and the momentum is real. Across the whole career, Saratoga has won 4 of 12 races and finished in the frame in 10 of them, meaning this is a horse that almost always turns up and competes.

The Cheltenham win gave the team plenty to shout about. Jockey Mark Walsh, who rides Saratoga in roughly half of all races and wins 2 in every 5 times they pair up, described it as almost effortless: he tracked the leaders throughout, moved up at the second last fence, and said Saratoga "did it very easy." That kind of performance, at that level of race, at a track as demanding as Cheltenham, is the sort of thing that gets people paying attention. Walsh also noted a memorable exchange with Michael O'Leary on the day, who wished him a happy birthday with the quip "only the good die young" — the kind of colour that suggests this win meant something to everyone involved.

Roche himself had been quietly confident for a while. Speaking in February, before the Cheltenham run, he talked about how Saratoga had improved with every race and how the jumping had come on steadily. He was hopeful there was more to come — and there was. The yard has sent out seven winners this season, and Saratoga is clearly carrying a big share of the excitement.

The distance picture is striking too. Over two miles or further, Saratoga has won 3 of 5 races — that's 60%. At shorter trips the record thins out considerably. This is a horse that clearly wants room to travel and build momentum, and the longer the race, the more dangerous it becomes. With a three-race winning streak, a Class 1 already on the board, and a race just days ago, Saratoga looks to be hitting peak form at exactly the right time.