Saunton Surf

Her most recent win came at Downpatrick just this week, and before that she opened her account at Aintree back in May 2023 — two courses that suggest she's capable of rising to a challenge when the conditions suit. And conditions matter here: on normal ground, she has won 2 from just 4 races, a 50% record that is genuinely striking. That's not a fluke — it points to a horse who can be very good indeed when everything lines up.

The trainer is candid about the fact that there's still work being done to understand her. A slightly moody temperament has led to checks on her muscle enzymes, and there's a suggestion she may be the kind of horse who comes alive in spring rather than grinding through a full campaign. She ran well at Ludlow in the autumn, finishing second after being hampered at a crucial moment, and the trainer believes the Newcastle run that followed may have come a little too soon. These aren't excuses — they're the observations of someone still piecing together what makes this horse tick.

Her regular jockey James Bowen has yet to get a win from their five rides together, and she hasn't managed a victory at Class 4 level — the bread-and-butter tier she most often competes at — from seven attempts, which is a puzzle given the ability she's shown elsewhere. But her recent form is encouraging: a win, a second, and two fifth-place finishes in her last four completed runs point to a horse heading in the right direction. With the trainer convinced the talent is there and a win already banked this week, Saunton Surf looks like a horse worth watching as the season builds.