Samui

Gordon Elliott's yard at Longwood has sent out 210 winners this season, and Samui remains part of that operation despite a drought stretching back to January 2025. That last win came at Thurles, more than a year ago now, a gap long enough to test any horse's confidence. The real puzzle is how different Samui looks depending on ground conditions. On normal ground, it has won three times from eight races — a healthy 38 percent win rate — but ask it to run in the top races and the story changes completely. In six attempts at Class 1 level, Samui has managed no wins at all, which explains why it has been running lower down the card lately.

Recent races have been modest affairs, and that may actually be the point. With 20 months since the last victory, the focus is simply getting the horse back to the winner's enclosure. Normal ground is Samui's friend, and races pitched at a level where it has previously won will offer the best chance of success. At seven years old, the horse is hardly past it — this is still prime racing age — but it will need to rediscover something that has gone missing. Racing actively as recently as yesterday suggests the team believes there is more to come.