Flora Of Bermuda

The two wins tell an interesting story. Her first came at Goodwood in August 2023, which was also the first time she'd won anything — a debut victory at a prestigious summer festival, and at a Class 2 level, suggesting she arrived with ability to spare. Then came something rarer: a year later, on 12 July 2024 at York, she stepped up and won a Class 1 race, one of the best races in Britain. York in midsummer is as big a stage as this sport offers, and she delivered on it.

Since that York win, though, she hasn't won again across six races. The most recent form reads 9-3-14-3-2-3 — a mix of close finishes and one very poor run (that 14th), which is the kind of inconsistency that keeps her interesting rather than predictable. She clearly retains the ability to be competitive, as the string of thirds and a second shows, but she hasn't quite recaptured that winning feeling.

Now she returns from a break of around five months — a significant absence that will have the racing world watching carefully to see what shape she comes back in. Jockey Oisin Murphy, who has ridden her in 10 of her 17 races, wins roughly 1 in every 10 of their outings together. She is trained at Kingsclere by Andrew Balding, one of the busiest and most successful yards in the country — 204 winners this season alone — so she is in good hands if anyone can get her back to her best.

The question now is whether that York performance was a peak, or a sign of more to come.