New Monarch

The one win came at Kempton Park back in March 2026, and it remains the defining moment of the career so far. Kempton is a flat, all-weather oval that suits horses who travel smoothly through a race rather than relying on raw speed at the finish — so it will be worth watching whether New Monarch returns there to build on that. The recent run of form reads 6-7-1-4-4-2, which tells its own story: a brief dip in form, then a win, then a couple of mid-pack efforts before a runner-up finish most recently. Racing just one day ago, this is a horse very much in the thick of its season.

New Monarch is trained by Andrew Balding at his long-established yard in Kingsclere, Hampshire — and the numbers behind that operation are striking. Balding's team has sent out 202 winners already this season, which puts them firmly among the most productive yards in the country. For a young horse still finding its feet, having that level of expertise and resources behind it matters enormously. Balding is known for placing his horses patiently and picking the right moments, so the fact that New Monarch has already broken its duck and is racing regularly suggests the team sees real potential worth nurturing.

At seven races in, New Monarch is still very much a work in progress — but a work in progress with a win on the board, a runner-up finish in the latest outing, and one of Britain's sharpest training operations in its corner. Horses at this stage of their career can improve significantly as they mature and fill out physically, and with that consistent placed record already behind it, New Monarch looks like one to keep an eye on over the months ahead.