Filibustering

Trained by Harry Derham at Upper Lambourn — a yard that has sent out 57 winners already this season, so clearly knows how to place a horse — Filibustering first got its head in front at Redcar back in May 2024. Since then it has built steadily, and the numbers now make for interesting reading. Across its career it wins roughly one in every five races, which is a respectable return over 25 outings. But zoom in on normal ground conditions and that figure jumps sharply: three wins from eight races on a standard surface, meaning it wins closer to two in every five on the ground it prefers. That kind of improvement tells you the conditions really do matter with this horse.

The other thing that sets Filibustering apart is its appetite for distance. Give it a proper test — two miles or beyond — and it has won four of its eleven races at those distances, a win rate of 36%. Nearly one in three long-distance races ends in a win. That is a horse that genuinely stays, rather than one that simply plods around. The longer the race, the more dangerous it becomes.

The one oddity in the profile is the Class 4 record: nought from eight at that level, which sits awkwardly next to everything else. Class 4 races sit in the mid-range of British racing, and the fact that Filibustering has found them difficult while winning elsewhere suggests it may simply be better suited when dropped in class or when the right conditions align — as they clearly did at Cartmel this week. Regular rider David Allan has partnered the horse five times together, winning once, but with current form this strong that partnership may yet tell a better story before the season is out.