Viroflay

The recent form is the thing that catches the eye. In Viroflay's last six races, the record reads 1-17-2-1-2-2 — that solitary blip aside, this is a horse that has been placing and winning consistently. Two wins from those six runs, and a second place finish behind Its On The Line in the Champion Hunters' Chase at Punchestown sits among them. Nicholls himself describes that as a top-class piece of form, and finishing second in a race of that quality at one of Ireland's great tracks is precisely the kind of run that marks a horse out as well above average at its level.

Kempton Park looks like home. Viroflay has won 2 of 4 races there — that's half of all visits — with the first of those wins coming in April 2025. The horse clearly thrives at the track. The most recent win came at Newton Abbot just this week, adding to a sequence that suggests momentum is very much with the horse right now. Nicholls notes that Viroflay doesn't quite stay three miles, with two and a half miles the sweet spot — and on normal ground, the record is remarkable: 3 wins from just 5 races, a 60% win rate. Keep it dry and keep the trip right and this horse tends to perform.

The partnership with Miss Olive Nicholls, Paul's daughter, adds a family angle that makes this story easy to root for. Together they have 2 wins from 10 races — roughly 1 in 5 — and Nicholls has ridden Viroflay to seven wins in total across all riders. After the Kempton win, Nicholls described the horse as having plenty of speed and loving being out in front, and spoke openly about potential targets including the hunter chase meeting at Cheltenham. With 92 winners sent out from Ditcheat this season alone, this is a yard firing on all cylinders — and Viroflay looks like one of the more entertaining horses to follow through the summer.