Sanaam

That win arrived at Southwell in December 2025, and while it remains Sanaam's only trip to the winner's enclosure, the supporting numbers offer a little encouragement. Over seven furlongs to a mile, the horse has won one from three races — a win rate of 33%, or about one in every three attempts at that trip. That is a meaningful contrast to the overall picture and points to a horse that finds its best form when asked to travel that particular distance. Two placed finishes from seven races suggest it isn't simply disappearing into the pack on its less successful days, either.

The training operation behind Sanaam is one of the stronger yards in Britain. Simon and Ed Crisford, based at Newmarket — the spiritual home of flat racing in England — have sent out 78 winners this season, which is a strong output that reflects a professional, well-resourced team. When a stable of that calibre keeps running a horse, it generally means they believe there is more to come.

What complicates the picture is the recent sequence. Reading the last six runs from most recent backwards — 8, 4, 8, 9, 1, 7 — you can see the solitary win sandwiched between some decidedly modest finishes. Eighth, fourth, eighth, ninth on either side of a victory does not paint a picture of a horse building relentlessly toward something. It looks more like a horse that clicked on one particular occasion and has been searching for that feeling again since. Sanaam last raced just one day ago, which means this is a horse being kept busy and given every opportunity to find a winning position again.

At three years old, there is still time for things to fall into place — this is still a young horse, and plenty of horses take time to settle into a consistent pattern. Whether Southwell in December was a glimpse of what Sanaam can do, or simply a good day amid ordinary ones, is the question the next few races should begin to answer.