Your Darling

The headline in Your Darling's story is Ascot. He has won there twice from four visits, and his trainer Ben Pauling has made no secret of the fact that the track is the horse's spiritual home. Back-to-back wins at Ascot in November 2022 and November 2023 showed this wasn't a fluke — there is something about that right-handed, galloping track that brings out the best in him. Pauling has talked about him going "well fresh" and wanting to use Ascot as the season's opening target, which tells you everything: when a trainer plans their whole campaign around one specific track for one specific horse, you know the relationship between the two is special.

What makes Your Darling even more compelling at this stage of his career is that he simply hasn't stopped. His last six races read like a horse half his age — two wins, a second, a third — and he won a Class 2 at Uttoxeter in May 2024 in ground Pauling thought was against him. "He had to battle at the end," the trainer said afterwards, which is exactly what you want to hear about a veteran. His most recent win came at Ludlow just five weeks ago, going right-handed on a tighter track than he usually favours, and he handled it without fuss.

Jockey Kielan Woods has ridden him six times and won on 2 of those occasions — a win rate of 33%, or roughly 1 in 3 — and the partnership looks settled. Pauling's yard at Naunton in Gloucestershire has been in brilliant form this season, sending out 91 winners, and Your Darling fits the picture of a horse with plenty still to give. There's even talk of a trip to Punchestown. At 11, he's not winding down — he's just getting interesting.