Jakarta

Those two wins are worth looking at. The first came at Goodwood in May 2024, one of the most celebrated tracks in the country, which is no small thing for any horse to put on its CV. The second came at Newmarket in October 2024 — and that was now 20 months ago. Since then, Jakarta's recent form reads 7-9-8-2-5-1 from the back end, meaning that second place a few runs ago is a flicker of promise in among some disappointing finishes. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is firmly in the thick of a campaign right now.

Where Jakarta looks most dangerous is over shorter distances — between 5 furlongs and 6 and a half furlongs — where it has won 1 from 3 races, roughly 1 in every 3 attempts. That is a meaningful number. At that pace and distance, the horse has clearly found something that suits it, and it is a sharper, more combustible style of racing that rewards horses who can find a gear quickly. Most of Jakarta's racing has come at Class 4 level — the solid middle ground of British racing, not the glamour events, but competitive enough — and there the record reads 2 wins from 6 races, again around 1 in 3.

The yard behind the horse is trained by Oliver Cole, based at Whatcombe in Oxfordshire, and the team has sent out 8 winners already this season, which shows the operation is ticking along nicely. Whether Jakarta can add to that tally soon is the question — the gap since that last win is starting to stretch, and the recent form has been patchy. But a horse that has shown it can win at Goodwood and Newmarket, and that still runs frequently, has not given up on finding that moment again.