Toca Madera

The most telling detail in Toca Madera's record is where it tends to race. Eleven of its 21 outings have come at Class 2 level — some of the better races in Britain — and it has drawn a blank in every single one of them. Zero wins from 11 attempts at that grade. That is not a failure so much as an honest reflection of the company this horse keeps. It is being asked to mix it with some serious rivals, and the fact that it keeps getting placed among them says something about its quality, even if the win column stays stubbornly empty.

Its two victories tell a nice story on their own. The first came at Bath in June 2023, and the second arrived at Windsor in August 2024 — two of the more attractive tracks on the southern circuit, which adds a little glamour to an otherwise workmanlike CV. That Windsor win, though, now sits 21 months in the past, and recent form makes for uncomfortable reading: finishing 3rd, 10th, 4th, 9th, 7th, and 11th in its last six races suggests a horse that has lost the knack of finding its best at the right moment.

Toca Madera is trained by David O'Meara at Upper Helmsley in North Yorkshire, a yard that has sent out 107 winners this season alone — so this is a professional, high-functioning operation that knows what it is doing. Regular jockey Tommie Jakes has partnered the horse five times without a win between them, though that may say more about the level of competition than either of them. The horse raced just yesterday, which means it is firmly in the middle of a campaign. Whether there is another win in it remains the question — and on current evidence, the honest answer is that it will probably make you wait.