The Dark Baron

The place to see him at his best is Wolverhampton. He has won there twice from just 6 visits, which works out at 1 in every 3 races — a remarkable return for a horse at this level, and a strong sign that the track genuinely suits him. His most recent win came there on 3 March, just two months ago, so that form is fresh and relevant. He first broke his duck at Bath back in September 2025, but it is the Midlands all-weather circuit where he has done his most convincing work.

A big part of that story is jockey Laura Coughlan. In 11 races together, she has ridden him to all 3 of his wins — a win rate of 27%, or roughly 1 in every 4 rides. That is a genuinely striking number. When Coughlan is aboard, this horse seems to find another gear, and it is the kind of partnership that any racing observer would be reluctant to split up.

Trainer Kathy Turner, based at Sigwells in Somerset, has sent out 6 winners already this season — a yard clearly in decent form. The Dark Baron fits neatly into the kind of races he handles well: Class 6, which represents the entry-level tier of British racing, and distances between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four furlongs, where he has won 1 from 3 starts at a 33% clip. Normal ground conditions suit him too, with 2 wins from 8 races on a standard surface.

He raced just one day ago, so he is very much an active, in-form horse right now. His last six results read third, second, first, a blank, second, third — a sequence that tells you he is competitive almost every time he turns up. At this level, on a track he knows, with his regular partner in the saddle, The Dark Baron is the kind of horse that deserves to be taken seriously.