Cerulean Bay

The horse's best moments have come at Goodwood, a track famous for its unusual sweeping bends, and it seems almost tailor-made for them. Back-to-back wins there in late September and early October 2025 — both Class 2 races — showed a horse in the form of its life. Jockey Daniel Tudhope, who knows this horse better than anyone with 3 wins from 8 rides together (winning almost 2 in every 5 times they team up), described it simply as a lovely horse with the right attitude: when something comes to challenge it, it keeps finding more. The win at Thirsk in August 2024 was arguably even more impressive — drawn widest of all, the position most jockeys dread, Cerulean Bay still found a way to win.

O'Meara noted during a stable visit earlier this year that dropping back to seven furlongs — a slightly shorter trip — had been the making of the horse, and that a lame run in Ireland left him feeling there was still something to work with in terms of how the handicapper rates it. That matters, because at this level, every pound of weight added to the saddle makes winning harder.

The recent form — finishing 8th, 5th, 2nd, 4th, 3rd, and 13th across the last six races — tells the story of a horse searching for its next win rather than finding it easily. It has not won since that Goodwood success nine months ago, though the placings suggest it is still competitive. O'Meara's yard has sent out 101 winners this season alone, which signals a well-organised, high-functioning operation — the kind where horses tend to get the conditions they need to perform. Cerulean Bay, who raced just yesterday, remains very much in active training and firmly in the mix.