Claymore

The highlight of that career came on 16 June 2022, when Claymore won a Class 1 race at Ascot — one of the most prestigious venues in British racing. That result alone puts this horse in a different category from most. Plenty of horses spend entire careers without ever winning at that level. Claymore has done it, and on fast, dry ground at that — the conditions it clearly prefers. On dry ground, it has won 2 of 6 races, a 33% win rate that is genuinely strong and tells you this horse is a different animal when the sun has been out.

The other place Claymore consistently turns up is Newmarket — the home of British flat racing, and apparently something close to a home track. Two wins from 6 races there is a 33% win rate, remarkable when you consider the quality of horse that typically fills those fields. The most recent of those wins came on 12 July 2025, just 11 months ago, confirming this isn't ancient history. There's something about Newmarket that brings out the best in Claymore, and Jane Chapple-Hyam's yard — which has already sent out 25 winners this season from its base in Dalham, Suffolk — clearly knows how to aim this horse well.

The recent form does give pause. Finishes of 5th, 8th, 7th, and 7th in the last four completed races suggest the 7-year-old is finding life harder at the moment, and it hasn't won in its last six outings. But Claymore raced just yesterday, so the team clearly hasn't given up. Whether there's another big-day performance left in the tank — ideally on a dry summer's day at Newmarket — remains to be seen, but the horse has earned the right to keep trying.