Valiant Force

The key to Valiant Force's racing profile is the ground beneath its hooves. On normal conditions, it thrives: 5 wins from 15 races tells the story of a horse that genuinely prefers standard going and struggles when the track softens or speeds up. That specificity matters for a trainer plotting where and when to run. Robson De Aguiar, who trains the horse at Mullingar in Westmeath, will have learned this lesson well. David Egan has been the regular jockey, riding it 13 times, but with only 2 wins from those rides, the partnership has not quite clicked at the level needed.

What makes Valiant Force worth watching is what it proved capable of on 22 June 2023: it won a Class 1 race at Ascot on its first career victory, a remarkable entry point into the winner's circle that suggested real quality. That result, however, has not been repeated in the top races—just 1 win from 4 subsequent Class 1 attempts—and the recent form makes grim reading. In its last six races it has managed only a 13th-place finish, with the rest outside the frame. The horse is still running, racing just a day ago, but it is searching for a return to the form that once looked so promising.