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Horse profile

Heart Wood (FR)

8yo gelding · Trainer Henry De Bromhead · Owner Robcour
by Choeur Du Nord (FR) out of Miss Nikita (FR) (High Chaparral)
19 runs · 11 courses · from Sep 2021
As at 10 Nov 2026 · KTB archive: GB, Ireland & France · 2005–present, updated daily
6 wins · 6 courses Beaten favourite LTO Last run 10 Apr 2026 · 3rd of 7 Last raced off OR 168
KTB Profile

Heart Wood won six of 19 starts on turf, including a Grade 1 success in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in Mar 2026. He has four wins from five runs over 2m5f – 3m, with three of those on soft ground, and has also won over 2m1f – 2m4f. Ridden prominently in four of six analysed runs, the gelding finished third of seven as beaten favourite in the JCB Melling Chase at Aintree in Apr 2026, last raced off his career-high mark of 168.

Based on 19 archived runs · run-style from 10 commented runs since Oct 2024 · updated 10 Nov 2026
KTB at a glance Typically prominent OR at career high
Official rating168At career-high mark
168 136–168

KTB Speed and Rating

KTB Speed

Best recent Speed 122 the best of the last 3 graded (A or B) runs · Punchestown, 15 Oct 2025

How fast the horse ran, as points against the day-corrected standard time for its course and distance: 100 is the median GB Class 4 handicap winner on that code; one point is 0.1% of the standard time. A, B or C is how much the day's card could tell us, not how good the run was. What this means →

Jumps 12 figures · best 136C · median 100
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 10 Nov 2025
Soft5136C91—
Good to Soft4122A1001 run · —
Heavy2127C1191 run · —
Good1——1 run · —
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 10 Nov 2025
2m1f – 2m4f7127C1003 runs · 111 / 100
2m5f – 3m4136C122.5—
Over 3m1———

Of 15 runs looked at, 3 have no figure: not enough races on the card to set the day (under 4) (1) · did not complete (1) · obstacles omitted — the race ran a shortened course (1).

KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 12 figures from 15 runs · as at 3 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

KTB Rating

Best recent KTB Rating 161A the best of the last 3 rated runs · Tramore, 1 Jan 2026 Official rating 168 at the last run, 10 Apr 2026

What the horse achieved in each race, in pounds on the official-rating scale, from the weight carried, the lengths beaten and the race's own level solved across the archive — never the market, never the official rating as a starting point. The headline is the best of the horse's last three rated runs on that code — its best recent day. The KTB Rating on a racecard is a different reading of the same figures: the level the horse has been running to, an average of up to its last six runs with the latest counting most, so the two can differ. A, B or C on a run is how much known form was in that race. What this means →

Jumps 14 figures · best 161A · median 144
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 10 Nov 2025
Soft7161A1451 run · —
Good to Soft4152A141.51 run · —
Heavy2146B1411 run · —
Good1——1 run · —
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 10 Nov 2025
2m1f – 2m4f8159B142.53 runs · 159 / 140
2m5f – 3m5161A1431 run · —
Over 3m1———

Of 15 runs looked at, 1 has no figure: did not complete (or a non-runner row) (1).

KTB Rating v1 · batch 3 Oct 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 14 figures from 15 runs · as at 4 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

Both figures are KTB's own, computed from the archive; no vendor rating enters either. Every run's figure is on its form line below with its grade. Grades measure how much the archive could see, never the merit of the run.

Run style from 10 analysed runs since Oct 2024

  • Prominent 6 (60%) · 4 wins
  • Mid-division 4 (40%) · 0 wins

Pedigree intelligence

Sire

Progeny in our archive have won 13.7% of 805 runs since May 2020 (142 horses).

Strongest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 18.3% from 120.

GoingRunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Good to Firm5120%+6.3—
Good1011514.9%+1.21 from 1
Good to Soft1031413.6%−0.11 from 4
Soft3135016%+2.33 from 9
Heavy2713011.1%−2.61 from 5
Standard (AW)1200%−13.7—
Distance (all codes)RunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
6f – 7f100%−13.7—
1m – 1m1f300%−13.7—
1m2f – 1m4f1100%−13.7—
1m5f – 2m1202218.3%+4.6—
2m1f – 2m4f4866212.8%−0.92 from 13
2m5f – 3m1532415.7%+24 from 5
Over 3m3126.5%−7.20 from 1

Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since May 2020 · as at 10 Nov 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast

Dam
Miss Nikita (FR) (High Chaparral)

4 siblings in the archive, 1 winner — best of them Miss Wood (FR) (3 wins).

The wins came over 2m1f–2m2f; the highest grade won is Grade 3 (Miss Wood (FR)).

ProduceRunsWinsWin tripsBest grade
Miss Wood (FR)1232m1f–2m2fGrade 3
Oskaria (FR)30——
Da Lat (FR)50——
Mdracafeu (FR)140——

Record by conditions

GoingRunsWinsSR£1
Soft 9 3 33% +2.62
Heavy 5 1 20% −0.30
Good to Soft 4 1 25% −2.56
Good 1 1 100% +4.50

ClassRunsWinsSR£1
Class 1 4 1 25% +1.50

CourseRunsWinsSR£1
Auteuil (FR) 3 1 33% +1.70
Aintree 2 0 0% −2.00
Cheltenham 2 1 50% +3.50
Punchestown 2 1 50% −0.56
Fairyhouse 2 0 0% −2.00
Leopardstown 2 1 50% +5.00
Naas 2 0 0% −2.00
Tramore 1 1 100% +2.00
Wexford 1 1 100% +0.62
Navan 1 0 0% −1.00
Compiegne (FR) 1 0 0% −1.00

DistanceRunsWinsSR£1
2m1f – 2m4f 13 2 15% −2.80
2m5f – 3m 5 4 80% +8.06
Over 3m 1 0 0% −1.00

JockeyRunsWinsSR£1
Darragh O'Keeffe 8 4 50% +3.56
Rachael Blackmore 7 1 14% +0.00
Johnny Charron 4 1 25% +0.70

HeadgearRunsWinsSR£1
None 15 5 33% +3.56
Tongue tie 4 1 25% +0.70

SeasonRunsWinsSR£1
2026 3 2 67% +5.50
2025 4 1 25% −2.56
2024 5 2 40% +3.62
2023 2 0 0% −2.00
2022 2 1 50% +2.70
2021 3 0 0% −3.00

TypeRunsWinsSR£1
Chase 15 5 33% +3.56
Hurdle 4 1 25% +0.70

Splits include every sample, however small — muted rows are under 3 runs. A one-from-one record is a fact, not a trend: read the Runs column before the strike rate.

Form

DateCourseRace PosBtn Wgt ORSpdKTB Jockey SP
2026 · 3 runs
10 Apr 26+29d Aintree JCB Melling Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) Class 1 · 2m4f · Good To Soft · 7 ran Settled midpack early - made ground into contention before 4 out - hit the fence 3 out while urged into fourth - driven after 2 out in pursuit of the leading two but unable to threaten - held on for third 3/7 11 11-10 168100A140B Darragh O'Keeffe 6/5F
12 Mar 26+70d Cheltenham Ryanair Chase (Registered As The Festival Trophy) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) Class 1 · 2m4½f · Good · 7 ran Fenced neatly early - travelled up with the pace - closed on the front-runner after 4 out - asked for effort to hit the front before 2 out - opened a gap before the last - stayed on strongly to win 1/7 11-10 16090A159B Darragh O'Keeffe 9/2
01 Jan 26+39d Tramore O'Driscoll's Irish Whiskey New Year's Day Chase (Grade 3) 2m7f · Soft · 7 ran Sat handy behind pace - edged in front approaching second-last stage - pressed on before the final two furlongs - stayed on strongly to score with ease 1/7 11-6 160—161A Darragh O'Keeffe 2/1J
2025 · 4 runs
23 Nov 25+39d Punchestown John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase (Grade 1) 2m3½f · Soft To Heavy · 10 ran Settled handy early - held steady position after 7th - unable to close gap approaching 4 out - stayed on at same rate but slipped to 4th late 4/10 2½ 11-12 160111C136C Darragh O'Keeffe 10/1
15 Oct 25+177d Punchestown BetVictor Chase (Grade 3) 2m7f · Good To Yielding · 6 ran Sat behind front pair - third at halfway - moved into second four out - driven on after the following fence - improved to share command two out - asked for effort to hit front at the last and stayed on strongly 1/6 11-0 160122A138B Darragh O'Keeffe 4/9F
21 Apr 25+39d Fairyhouse Jack McInerney Memorial Fairyhouse Chase (Grade 2) 2m4f · Soft To Heavy · 7 ran Settled midfield - 4th at halfway then pressed without response entering the straight - dropped away and pulled up before 2 out PU/7 — 11-4 160—— Rachael Blackmore 7/4F
13 Mar 25+75d Cheltenham Ryanair Chase (Registered As The Festival Trophy) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) Class 1 · 2m4½f · Good To Soft · 9 ran Settled in the pack - not foot-perfect at the 11th - moved up to dispute third from 4 out - driven before the following fence - second 2 out and stuck on - well held by the winner 2/9 9 11-10 159100A152A Darragh O'Keeffe 18/1
2024 · 5 runs
28 Dec 24+27d Leopardstown Savills Chase (Grade 1) 3m½f · Good To Yielding · 9 ran Settled in the pack early - improved to 4th with three to jump - pushed along and made headway entering the straight - unable to threaten leaders and stayed on same gear to finish fourth 4/9 2½ 11-10 15495B143A Rachael Blackmore 18/1
01 Dec 24+34d Fairyhouse Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase (Grade 1) 2m4f · Yielding · 5 ran Sat handy in second - narrowed gap three out - pushed along after two out - slipped to third briefly approaching last - rallied on the run-in to snatch second on the line 2/5 nk 11-10 15555C140B Darragh O'Keeffe 2/1
28 Oct 24+199d Wexford Michael Hickey Memorial Chase (Listed) 2m7f · Soft · 3 ran Sat second early - made headway four out - edged in front two out - kicked clear before the last - stayed on strongly to score 1/3 10-9 151136C142C Darragh O'Keeffe 8/13F
12 Apr 24+68d Aintree Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices' Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) Class 1 · 3m1f · Soft · 6 ran 3/6 1¼ 11-7 15391A145B Rachael Blackmore 5/1
04 Feb 24+52d Leopardstown O'Driscolls Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 2m5½f · Yielding To Soft · 25 ran 1/25 10-1 136123B153A Rachael Blackmore 6/1
2023 · 2 runs
14 Dec 23+32d Naas Bar One Racing 'Bet 10 Get 50 Sign Up Offer' Beginners Chase 2m4f · Soft To Heavy · 4 ran 2/4 9 11-12 —127C146B Rachael Blackmore 11/8
12 Nov 23+364d Naas Mongey Communications Beginners Chase 2m4f · Soft · 9 ran 2/9 2¾ 11-12 ——145A Rachael Blackmore 11/2
2022 · 2 runs
13 Nov 22+252d Navan Irish Stallion Farms Ebf Beginners Chase 2m1f · Yielding · 11 ran 2/11 4 11-4 —49A132A Rachael Blackmore 4/1
06 Mar 22+119d Auteuil (FR) Prix Univers II (Listed Handicap Hurdle) (4yo) (Turf) 2m2f · Heavy · 12 ran 1/12 11-0 ——— Johnny Charron 37/10
2021 · 3 runs
07 Nov 21+28d Auteuil (FR) Prix Cambaceres - Grande Course de Haies des 3 Ans (Hurdle) (3yo) (Turf) 2m2f · Heavy · 10 ran 6/10 6 10-8 ——— Johnny Charron 40/1
10 Oct 21+30d Auteuil (FR) Prix du Nouveau Cercle de l'Union - Prix Paul's Cray (Hurdle) (Handicap) (3yo) (Turf) 2m2f · Very Soft · 12 ran 2/12 2½ 10-12 ——— Johnny Charron 69/10
10 Sep 21 Compiegne (FR) Prix Nuage (Hurdle) (Conditions) (3yo Colts & Geldings) (Turf) 2m1f · Very Soft · 8 ran 2/8 3 10-10 ——— Johnny Charron 89/10

Quick answers

How many races has Heart Wood won?
Heart Wood (FR) won 6 of 19 archived starts between 2021 and 2026, a strike rate of 31.6%. Placed 12 times in total (63.2% of starts).
Who trains Heart Wood?
Heart Wood (FR) is trained by Henry De Bromhead, who saddled the horse on its most recent run on 10 April 2026.
Who is Heart Wood's sire?
Heart Wood (FR) is by Choeur Du Nord (FR) out of Miss Nikita (FR), whose sire is High Chaparral.
What going does Heart Wood prefer?
Heart Wood (FR) has the best record on soft going: 3 wins from 9 starts (33.3%). Only going bands with at least three archived starts are read, so this is a direction rather than a settled preference.
What is Heart Wood's official rating?
The most recent official rating on record is 168, from the run on 10 April 2026. That is also the highest on record.
What is Heart Wood's sire's record?
Choeur Du Nord (FR)'s progeny in our archive have won 13.7% of 805 runs since May 2020 (142 horses), Flat and jumps together. Strongest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 18.3% from 120.
Who are Heart Wood's siblings?
Out of Miss Nikita (FR), Heart Wood (FR) has 4 other produce in our archive, 1 of them a winner. Most wins: Miss Wood (FR) (3). Highest grade won: Grade 3 (Miss Wood (FR)). The wins came over 2m1f–2m2f. As at Nov 2026.

Record shown from September 2021. Our archive holds racing in Great Britain, Ireland and France from January 2005. Any runs before that, or in other countries, are not in it. In-running comments are available from 2024 onward.