Naqeeb

That Goodwood win came after months of near-misses. He was third in the Duke of Edinburgh at Royal Ascot earlier in 2025, a respectable effort at a prestigious meeting, though he faded badly when stepped up to York's tougher John Smith's Cup more recently — the kind of dud day that happens to most racehorses and is best forgotten. The yard, based at Norton in North Yorkshire under trainer Julie Camacho, has clearly been tinkering with his racing pattern and trip, and there is a genuine sense they are piecing together the puzzle of how to get the best from him. He performs noticeably better at distances between 1m1f and 1m2f, winning 1 of his 5 races at that yardage, and the team has openly discussed targeting similar trips. Jockey Ryan Sexton has emerged as his rider on big occasions and showed tactical nous at Goodwood, committing him at the right moment to land the prize. For all his inconsistency — he has beaten Jim Crowley's partnership with him, going 0 from 8 — Naqeeb remains a genuinely interesting horse, one that seems to be finding his feet late in his career and may have more top-level wins in him yet.