First Conquest

The two standout wins came at Newmarket in spring and summer 2024, both in Class 2 races — one step below the very best races in Britain. Winning at that level once is an achievement; doing it twice at the same track in the same season suggests the horse genuinely thrives in that environment. It also has two wins from four races at Meydan in Dubai, making it a genuine course specialist there too. A horse that can perform on two entirely different continents, at two different tracks, is not a common thing.

The partnership with William Buick is worth noting. In five races together, they have won three — that's a 60% win rate, which is a remarkable number in a sport where even elite combinations rarely win more than a third of their races. When Buick is in the saddle, something clicks.

The puzzle with First Conquest is what happens when the grade goes up. Step it into Class 1 — the very top races — and the record reads zero wins from three attempts. That's not unusual; the difference between Class 2 and Class 1 is substantial, and plenty of horses find their ceiling there. Its last win came at Meydan in January 2025, and across the last six races the form reads 9-3-3-4-3-3, meaning it has placed four times in that run but hasn't managed to get its nose in front. It raced just yesterday, so it is firmly in training and being kept busy.

The horse clearly loves normal ground conditions, winning 2 of its 4 races on a standard surface. The profile that emerges is of a horse that is reliable, consistent, and genuinely good — just perhaps one that is at its best when not asked to mix it with the very elite. For a trainer as powerful as Appleby, that might eventually change. But right now, First Conquest is a horse that travels well, places often, and picks its moments to win with satisfying precision.