Independent Expert

Her trainer Jim Best — who operates alongside Suzi Best from their yard in Lewes, East Sussex — describes her as tough, honest, and genuine, which in racing terms is the highest compliment you can pay a horse that will never be the fastest thing on the track. The yard has sent out 13 winners this season, and Independent Expert has been part of that story. Best has not had her long, but he already has a clear read on what makes her tick: she likes wet, muddy ground, and when she gets it, she is a different animal. In five races on that kind of surface she has won twice — that is a 40% win rate, compared to her overall rate of roughly 1 win in every 7 races across her whole career.

She is also a course specialist at Naas, in Ireland, where she has won 2 of her 5 visits. Her most recent win came there in March 2026, on Royal Ascot trials day, when jockey Joey Sheridan took her back through the field and let her pick them off late. Best admitted he was not entirely sure she was fully ready that day — she is a light-framed horse who does not need much training to be race-fit, which means she can sometimes catch her trainer off guard with how good she is. The stiff mile at Naas suited her perfectly, and she hit the line hard.

That distance — seven furlongs to a mile — is where she does her best work. Over that range she has won 5 of 19 races, a 26% win rate that is well above her career average. There is a broader ambition around her too: Best has mentioned the Kensington Palace at Royal Ascot as a potential target, one of the top races in Britain for horses like her. She may not have the handicapper fooled, but the team believe there is still improvement to come. Given that she raced yesterday and is still being pointed at big targets at seven years old, it would be unwise to doubt her.