Volendam

That sole win finally arrived at Bath on 5 April 2026, and it was not a fluke arrival out of nowhere. Volendam has placed — finishing second or third — 12 times in those 20 races. That is a horse that keeps showing up to compete, keeps getting its nose in front of the placed positions, and has simply struggled to get over the line first. The recent form underlines this: in the last six races, Volendam has a win, two second places, and a third. Whatever changed at Bath six weeks ago may have been the beginning of something.

The distance that suits this horse best appears to be around a mile and a quarter — 1m1f to 1m2f — where Volendam has run 11 times and recorded that single win. That is roughly 1 in every 11 races at those trips, which sounds modest, but it tells you the yard knows where to point this horse when they want to be competitive. The slightly puzzling detail is that Volendam has run nine times at Class 6 level — the entry-level tier of British racing — and won none of them. The win at Bath came at a different level, which suggests this horse might actually prefer a slightly better grade of race, odd as that sounds. Sometimes a horse raises its game when the competition does.

Tony Carroll's yard at Cropthorne in Worcestershire has been in fine form this season, sending out 136 winners — a number that puts them firmly among the more productive training operations around. When a horse from a busy, winning yard suddenly clicks into form, it tends to be noticed. Jack Doughty, who has ridden Volendam in five of its races and was aboard for that Bath victory, has won 1 in every 5 rides on this horse — a 20% win rate that is notably better than Volendam's overall record suggests. That partnership is worth watching. Volendam raced just one day ago and is clearly in the thick of a busy spell. Whether the Bath breakthrough leads somewhere or remains a solitary highlight is the question worth following.