Calafrio

The first win came at Thirsk in August 2024, breaking the duck after what must have been a frustrating run of near-misses for trainer George Baker. Then, more than a year later, Calafrio won again at Kempton Park in November 2025 — a result that will have felt significant, because Kempton is an all-weather track that runs through the winter months, and winning there suggests the horse handles artificial surfaces well. That win was five months ago, and Calafrio has since had an 85-day break, suggesting Baker has deliberately given the horse time to recover and come back fresh.

Most of Calafrio's racing has come at Class 6 level — the entry-level tier of British racing, where the fields are competitive in their own way but the horses are not yet knocking on the door of the big occasions. Two wins from 20 races at that level works out to a 10% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 10 races, which is respectable without being eye-catching. It is a horse that competes honestly at its level without dominating it.

The recent form is genuinely encouraging, though. Reading the last six races from most recent backwards — 5th, 5th, 1st, 9th, 6th, 6th — you can see a horse that had a difficult patch, then found the winner's enclosure, and has since posted two consecutive fifth-place finishes. That is not spectacular, but it is consistent, and for a horse with Calafrio's record, consistency is the platform everything else is built on.

One puzzle worth noting: Andrew Mullen, who has ridden Calafrio more than any other jockey — seven times in total — has yet to ride the horse to a win. Not once from seven attempts. George Baker's yard has sent out 18 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses winning. Whether Calafrio returns from its break and finally puts it all together with Mullen in the saddle is one of the small, enjoyable questions this horse carries into its next race.