Ancient Egypt

The highlights came quickly and kept getting bigger. A first win at Beverley in late July 2025 was followed within a month by a victory at Goodwood — one of the most celebrated tracks in British racing and a venue where Class 2 races attract genuine quality. Winning there is not a small thing. It means Ancient Egypt has already beaten horses of a serious standard, which tells you this is not a horse that has been winning soft contests. The one blip in the record — a seventh-place finish — sits sandwiched between two wins, which suggests it was a temporary off-day rather than a sign of any weakness.

The trainer behind all this is Charlie Johnston, operating out of Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, and the numbers from his yard this season are staggering — 129 winners sent out, which is the kind of output that marks a training operation running at full tilt. When a yard like that picks its spots for a young horse, it tends to mean something.

The one question mark is the absence. Ancient Egypt has not raced for around six months, and returning from a long break always carries a degree of uncertainty, however talented the horse. Fitness has to be rebuilt, sharpness has to return, and the first run back is often as much about getting back in the groove as winning. Whether Ancient Egypt comes back to the track looking like the horse that won at Goodwood, or needs a run to find top gear again, is something only time will tell — but with that record, and that trainer, it would be unwise to write off a fast return to form.