Stateira

The most striking thing about Stateira is what she does at Newcastle. Three races at the track, three wins — a perfect record. That kind of course form is not a coincidence. Some horses simply love a particular track's configuration, its bends, its surface, and Stateira has made Newcastle her own. Her most recent victory there came in a Class 2 race in January 2026 — one of the better races you will find outside the very top tier — which tells you she is not just beating ordinary horses. She followed that up with another win at the same track in April. She raced just one day ago, so this is a horse very much in the thick of her season right now.

Her numbers over seven furlongs to a mile are as clean as they come: three runs, three wins, a 100% record. Get her at that trip on her favoured normal ground and you are looking at a horse who has never been beaten. That ground stat is almost as striking — four wins from five races on standard conditions, an 80% win rate. She clearly has preferences, and when they are met, she delivers.

Behind her is the Andrew Balding yard at Kingsclere in Hampshire, one of the busiest and most successful operations in British racing this season. With 202 winners already sent out this season, Balding's team clearly know how to place their horses to win, and Stateira fits the profile of a horse who has been placed with real care — stepped up in class at the right moments, kept on the ground and trips she excels on. Three wins from her last six races, including that Class 2 success, suggests she is improving rather than standing still. For a four-year-old, that is exactly the trajectory you want to see.