Balqaa

One thing that genuinely sets Balqaa apart is how she handles wet, muddy conditions. On soft or heavy ground, she has won 2 from 7 races — that is a win rate of 29%, or nearly 1 in every 3 races. For context, her overall win rate is 1 in 11. The moment the rain comes and the ground gets heavy, she becomes a completely different proposition, and any punter or racing fan paying attention would know to sit up and take notice when conditions turn against her rivals.

She won for the first time at Newcastle in January 2022 and, most recently, landed a race at Wolverhampton just two months ago in March 2026 — which means she is still very much at it and competitive. The vast majority of her career has been spent in Class 6 races, which are the bread-and-butter, everyday contests that fill out the bottom of the racing calendar. Four of her five wins have come at that level, and with six winners already sent out this season, the yard of Tony Culhane and Stella Barclay in Garstang, Lancashire, is clearly in decent form around her.

Jockey Jason Hart has ridden her 12 times and won twice — a win rate of 17%, or roughly 1 in every 6 rides — which is actually a noticeably better return than her career average. That kind of familiarity between horse and rider tends to matter. Her recent form — finishing eighth, fifth, fifth, then winning, then sixth, then fifth — shows the kind of up-and-down pattern typical of a horse at this level. But that win in the middle of it all, and the fact she raced just yesterday, says everything about her durability. Balqaa is eight years old and still showing up. There is something quietly admirable about that.