Gstaad

He announced himself at Navan in May 2025, quickening away from his rivals in a manner that caught the eye of jockey Chris Hayes, who was immediately enthusiastic about what he was sitting on. Just a month later, Gstaad made the step up to Ascot and won a Class 1 race — one of the most prestigious races in Britain — on 17 June. That is a significant leap for any young horse, let alone one with only a handful of races under his belt. Very few horses win at the highest level so early in their careers, and those that do tend to stick around in the big conversations for a long time.

His trainer is Aidan O'Brien, who operates out of Cashel in County Tipperary and whose yard has sent out 144 winners already this season alone. That is an extraordinary operation, and O'Brien does not get excited without reason. His assessment after Gstaad's run at Newmarket was telling: he specifically mentioned the English or Irish 2,000 Guineas — two of the most famous Classic races in the sport — as targets for next year. A trainer of O'Brien's stature putting a horse's name next to those races is not throwaway praise.

The one thing to keep in mind is that Gstaad has not raced for around five months, returning from a break with his Class 1 win still the most recent entry on his record. How much he has developed during that time is the open question. O'Brien has suggested he will be older and stronger as a four-year-old, and if the raw talent on display at Ascot is anything to go by, the gap between races may well have done him good rather than harm. This is a horse to watch very closely indeed.