Vanillier

The key to understanding Vanillier is Punchestown. At that track in Ireland, he has won 3 of his 9 races — that is 1 in every 3 starts, a completely different animal to the horse you see elsewhere. His most recent win came there just three months ago, in February 2026, and trainer Gavin Cromwell noted afterwards that the blinkers had helped sharpen him up noticeably. Cromwell's yard, based in Navan, Co. Meath, has been in fine form this season with 98 winners, and Vanillier is clearly still very much part of their plans. His partnership with jockey Keith Donoghue is worth noting too: together they have won 3 of 15 races, roughly 1 in 5, which is a meaningfully better record than his overall numbers suggest.

Where he has found life harder is at the very top level. In 4 races against Class 1 opposition — the best races Britain and Ireland have to offer — he has yet to win. That said, Cromwell has been open about the fact that Vanillier has been unlucky on the big occasion more than once. There is also a specialist element to his game now: he has taken well to cross-country races, a format that suits bold, experienced jumpers rather than pure speed, and he finished third at the Cheltenham Festival in that discipline last season.

His recent form reads 3-1-3-6 in his last four completed races, which shows a horse still running well and placing consistently, even if the wins have been spaced out. After a short break of 49 days, he comes back into the reckoning with options that suit his strengths — possibly the Grand National, possibly another crack at the cross-country at Cheltenham. At 11, he is not getting younger, but at Punchestown in particular, he has shown repeatedly that he still knows exactly what he is doing.