Special John

Trained by Sam Thomas at his yard in Lisvane, South Glamorgan, Special John is part of a set-up that has been firing on all cylinders, sending out 23 winners already this season. That kind of form from a trainer matters — horses in well-run, confident yards tend to run to their best, and Special John looks like one of the yard's reliable performers.

The horse opened its account at Exeter in November 2025 and has since added two more wins, the most recent coming at Bangor-on-Dee just four weeks ago in May 2026. The fact that Special John raced just one day ago and is already in this profile tells you something important — this is a horse that is fit, active, and in a rich vein of form right now. Two wins from its last six races is exactly the kind of recent momentum that makes a horse worth following.

What really stands out is how well Special John performs when the ground is soft and wet underfoot. From 5 races on that kind of surface, the horse has won 2 of them — a 40% win rate that is far above its overall average. Most horses are versatile or slightly prefer one type of ground; Special John's record on soft ground is sharp enough to be a genuine pattern rather than a coincidence. When rain arrives in the days before a race, this is a horse whose name is worth remembering.

Special John competes mainly at Class 5 level — a step below the top tier, but the right place for a horse to rack up wins and prize money steadily — and has won 2 of its 5 races at that grade, again at that 40% clip. A career earnings profile built through honest, consistent performances at this level is nothing to apologise for. Special John is a horse that knows its job, suits certain conditions brilliantly, and keeps showing up ready to race.