Cruz Control

The big story is Aintree. Cruz Control has won there on the fifth of April in two consecutive years — 2024 and 2025 — both times in Class 1 company, the very top tier of British racing. Winning one Class 1 at Aintree is a serious achievement. Winning two, back to back, at the same festival, marks a horse out as someone who saves his very best for the biggest occasions. Trainer Tom Lacey, who operates out of Woolhope in Herefordshire and has sent out 37 winners this season alone, describes him as a massive, long-striding horse who can look deceptively slow — but that is just the optical illusion of a big animal covering enormous amounts of ground with each stride. One stride for Cruz Control, the trainer reckons, covers what two strides would for a smaller horse.

The partnership with jockey Stan Sheppard has been central to all of this. In 20 races together they have won 7, a win rate of 35% — better than 1 in 3 — which is a remarkable hit rate at this level. There is clearly a deep understanding between horse and rider, which matters enormously in jump racing where split-second decisions over obstacles can be the difference between winning and falling. Lacey has also spoken candidly about a period when Cruz Control lost his way entirely, requiring creative intervention — beach trips, away days, slower work at home — before the horse came back to his brilliant best at Aintree in April 2025.

He is also a notable course specialist at Newcastle, winning 3 of his 5 races there. That kind of record at a specific track rarely happens by accident; some horses simply take to a particular layout, and Newcastle clearly suits him. With his last race just a day ago and the team clearly managing him carefully to keep him at his peak, Cruz Control remains one of the more compelling horses in training at his level.