Epic Poet

The first of those wins came at Haydock Park in September 2024, a Class 2 race — one of the better contests you'll find in Britain — and it opened the door to something much bigger. Trainer David O'Meara, who operates one of the busiest and most productive yards in the north of England with 101 winners already this season, then pointed Epic Poet towards the Middle East for the winter. What followed was extraordinary: the horse won around half a million pounds racing in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. To put that in perspective, O'Meara bought him for roughly £56,000 at a sale. The return on that investment has been staggering.

Epic Poet's last six results read 5-6-4-3-2-2, so he hasn't won since January — but finishing second twice and third once in that run tells its own story. This is a horse that keeps showing up in the right places. He does his best work over longer distances, with both his career wins coming over a mile and three-quarters or more — winning 2 of his 11 races at that range, or roughly 1 in every 5, compared to nothing over shorter trips. O'Meara notes he relaxes beautifully during races, which is what allows him to see out those stamina-sapping distances. The trainer also flags that he wants fast, dry ground to be at his absolute best.

The plan for the summer is deliberately light — the Yorkshire Cup is one target being considered, a prestigious staying race at York — with the real aim being to return to the Middle East next winter and do it all again. O'Meara has been refreshingly candid that Epic Poet is essentially a winter specialist now, with British racing serving as a tune-up rather than the main event. For a horse bought for under £60,000, that is a genuinely remarkable career arc — and by the sound of it, the most lucrative chapters may still be ahead.