Cotai Belle

The real story here is how much Cotai Belle seems to thrive at certain tracks and falter at others. A debut winner at Wetherby in early June and then a second success at Haydock Park a month later suggested a horse finding its rhythm. But when Cotai Belle has stepped up to Class 2 company — the highest level the record shows — the results have been bleak: no wins from three attempts. This is the kind of detail that matters. It hints that Cotai Belle may have a ceiling, that the races it won were at a more modest level, and that the step up to better horses has proved too steep so far. Fifteen months without a win is a long drought for any horse, and the cluster of second and third-place finishes recently suggests Cotai Belle is running well enough to threaten but not quite sharp enough to finish the job.

The Fahey yard itself is having a decent season with 23 winners to its name, so there is experience and resource in the corner. Whether Cotai Belle can rediscover that touch from July 2025 and string together another win — or whether this three-year-old has simply peaked — will be the question the team faces in the coming weeks.