Sommelier

What makes Sommelier genuinely interesting is how well it performs on wet, muddy ground. In four races on soft or heavy surfaces, it has won twice — a 50% win rate, or 2 from 4. That is a remarkable conversion, and it strongly suggests this is a horse that transforms when conditions suit it. On normal or faster ground, that edge disappears almost entirely. Any trainer watching the weather forecast closely before entering Sommelier is doing exactly the right thing.

The team behind Sommelier is based in Portarlington, County Laois, under trainer Kieran P Cotter, a yard that has sent out seven winners this season. Jockey Marco Ghiani has done well in the saddle here too — two wins from six rides together works out to winning roughly 1 in every 3 races, which is an excellent ratio and suggests a genuine partnership built on understanding how this horse runs.

The toughest challenge has come at Class 2 level — some of the better races in Britain — where Sommelier has run seven times without winning. That is not a disgrace; it simply tells you this is a horse operating near the top of its range at that grade. Drop the class slightly, find the right conditions underfoot, and there is clearly a win in Sommelier waiting to happen. The horse raced just yesterday, so the team is keeping it busy, and with the right soft-ground day coming, the 30-month wait could end sooner than the recent form suggests.