Banderas

The high point of his career came at Chester in May 2023, when he won a top-tier Class 2 race — one of the best races in Britain — on his first-ever visit to the winner's enclosure. His then trainer Michael Bell called him "a nice stayer for the future" with "a great temperament and a nice pedigree," and that assessment has aged well. Banderas has since gone on to confirm that Chester win was no fluke.

What makes him particularly interesting is how well he performs over a genuine test of stamina. In races run over two miles or more, he has won 3 from 9 — a 33% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 3 — which is a striking number at any level. He is a horse who stays all day, and the longer the race, the more dangerous he becomes. His trainer Sam England, who operates out of Guiseley in West Yorkshire and has sent out 49 winners this season alone, knows exactly what he has on his hands. England has spoken candidly about managing Banderas carefully — giving him breaks when needed and being selective about when to run him — which is the mark of a yard that understands its horses rather than simply running them into the ground.

Ground conditions matter enormously with this horse. On wet or muddy ground he wins 2 from 5, and on normal conditions 2 from 6 — both well above his overall average. England himself admitted that a win on the artificial all-weather surface at Wolverhampton in the fog was "very much a shock," which is a refreshingly honest thing for a trainer to say. The real Banderas turns up when the ground is soft and the trip is long.

He raced just yesterday and remains in active work, which suggests the yard believes there is more to come. With a yard firing on all cylinders and a horse finding his best form at exactly the right time, Banderas is well worth keeping an eye on.