Ajrad

What makes him genuinely interesting, though, is how specific his preferences are. He loves a straight course, travels best when tucked in behind horses and allowed to overtake late, and has a particular affinity for Chepstow — 3 wins from 8 races there, which works out at better than 1 in every 3. That's the kind of record that makes trainers circle a track on the calendar. Last season he won four times in total, and two of those came at Chepstow, where he was also placed twice. You don't accumulate a stat like that by accident; some horses just suit a course, and Chepstow suits Ajrad.

The flip side is that his best season appears to have come with a cost. Millman has been candid that after winning four races last year, Ajrad has been "paying the penalty" — the sport's way of saying the handicapper has adjusted his weights upward to make life harder for him. His last six races have returned a sixth, two blanks, an eighth, a ninth, and a seventh. His most recent win was at Bath back in September 2025, nine months ago now. The fact that he raced just yesterday and still finished mid-field tells you he's competitive but not currently firing.

The other quirk worth knowing: Ajrad is, in Millman's own words, "a bit too clever." He's been prone to fighting his jockey and pulling when things go wrong in running — a moment at Kempton recently where a horse cut across him caused him to be snatched back and he immediately started playing up. Lewis Edmunds, his most regular partner, has won 3 of their 13 races together — roughly 1 in 4 — which is a strong ratio and suggests the pair have developed an understanding. Get Ajrad relaxed, get him switching off behind the pack, and then let him pick off horses one by one. When it works, it works well.