Soldier Reeves

The one win on his record is a big one. He broke his duck at Cheltenham in November 2025, taking a Class 2 race — one of the top tiers of British racing — at a track that tends to find out horses quickly. Cheltenham rewards stamina, jumping ability, and nerve, and Soldier Reeves ticked all three boxes over a distance beyond two miles. It was his first career win, but it didn't look like a horse winning for the first time. Skelton has since described him as progressive, which in training speak means the best is still ahead.

The numbers are modest on the surface — one win from six races, or roughly 1 in every 6 starts — but the context lifts them. Skelton's yard has fired out 194 winners this season alone, so this isn't a trainer who needs to manage expectations. When he says he's very happy with Soldier Reeves and expects him to outrun himself at a longer trip, that's worth taking seriously. Since the Cheltenham win in November, the horse has run twice more and finished second and third, staying close to the leaders both times, including a solid effort behind Old Park Star. He's not falling away. He's building.

What makes Soldier Reeves genuinely interesting going forward is the combination of factors pointing in the same direction: a top trainer with a full head of steam this season, a horse who is only five and still learning his trade, a win at one of racing's great venues already on the CV, and a trainer who believes there's more to come over longer distances. He's raced just yesterday, so the legs are fresh and the form is live. If Skelton is right about the longer trip unlocking something extra, the win at Cheltenham may look like the beginning of the story rather than the highlight of it.