Skukuza

The first win came at Newmarket in May 2024, and things were building nicely when Skukuza finished second in the Britannia at Royal Ascot — one of the most competitive races of the summer Festival, run over a mile in front of a packed grandstand. That performance suggested a horse heading in an exciting direction. Then came an injury that wiped out the rest of the season entirely. When a horse misses months of racing at a crucial point in its development, it can lose momentum it never quite recovers. Skukuza, it turns out, has not lost it at all.

The return came at Haydock this year, a full twelve months after the last win. Dunlop described the team as very pleased with a fifth-place finish, noting that a horse returning from that long a break should improve considerably with the run under its belt. That improvement came quickly. Skukuza went to The Curragh in late June and won, doing it so convincingly that the team's representative on the day said the further it went, the further it was going to win. Dunlop was equally direct: this is a smart horse, and it deserved that moment.

At the top level — Class 1 and 2 races, the prestige end of the calendar — Skukuza has yet to win in three attempts (0 from 3), but the plan seems to be to go after exactly those races next. The Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, a famous mile handicap run on fast, dry ground, is apparently on the radar. It is worth noting that Skukuza's three career wins have all come on normal ground, a record of 3 from 8 (38%) that makes it one of the more reliable horses in the yard when conditions suit. The regular partnership with Ryan Moore — who has won 2 of his 5 rides on the horse, a 40% return — is another reason to be optimistic. That is a seriously good number by any measure.