Jan Brueghel

That Epsom win tells you a lot about the horse's character. Trainer Aidan O'Brien noted after the race that Jan Brueghel is "very tough" and that "if you pass him slowly, you're in" — meaning if a rival tries to ease past him without real conviction, he will dig back in and refuse to let them go. O'Brien also mentioned his ears were pricking at the finish line, which in racing terms usually means a horse has more in reserve. He was not just surviving — he was cruising.

His partnership with jockey Ryan Moore is one of the most reliable combinations around at the moment. The pair have raced together seven times and won five of them — that is a 71% win rate, which is extraordinary at this level. Moore knows the horse, and the horse clearly responds to him.

After a difficult run in the King George — one of the biggest races of the summer — Jan Brueghel returned at Chester in May 2026 and put in what Moore himself described as a good performance. The yard wasted no time in pointing him straight at the Coronation Cup at Epsom, a race he had already won once. That race has been given a significant boost in prize-money this year, making it an even bigger target, and O'Brien confirmed earlier in the spring that the plan was always to come back and defend it. He duly did exactly that, racing just one day ago and remaining very much in the thick of the season.

At The Curragh — the Irish track where he got his career off the ground in May 2024 — he has won twice from three visits, which adds another layer to his profile. He is a horse who travels well, handles different venues, and keeps turning up at the biggest occasions. That combination of consistency and class is what separates the good horses from the genuinely special ones.