Toothless

What makes Toothless's current season all the more remarkable is what happened before it. Since his previous appearance on a racecourse, he suffered a severe bout of colic and needed major surgery — a condition that kills horses with alarming regularity, and from which many never return to racing at all. Paul Nicholls, one of the most successful trainers in Britain and operating out of his celebrated yard in Ditcheat, Somerset, has nursed him back to fitness. That yard has sent out 92 winners this season alone, which tells you something about the level of care and expertise surrounding this horse during his recovery.

Nicholls is clear about what brings the best out of Toothless: normal ground, a trip of around two and a half miles, and a smaller track. The numbers back him up. On normal ground, Toothless has won 3 of his 6 races — exactly 1 in 2, an extraordinary ratio that any trainer would be thrilled with. Stick him in the mud or on a dry summer track, and the results drop off sharply. The trainer knows his horse.

Toothless kicked off his career with a win at Fakenham on New Year's Day 2023, and most recently won at Windsor on New Year's Day 2026 — a nice habit of starting the year well. He's been raced most often at Class 4 level, the bread-and-butter tier of British racing, where he's won 3 of 8 races, and that appears to be his natural home. His regular partner in the saddle is Harry Cobden, one of the stable's go-to jockeys, who has ridden him to 1 win from 5 tries together. Given everything Toothless has been through in the past year, just seeing him race again — and finishing second just yesterday — is the story in itself.