Venetian Sun

Her 2025 campaign has been relentless. She opened her account at Carlisle in May in a Class 2 race, then stepped up to the very top level and won at Ascot in June — one of the grandest stages in British racing. She followed that up by winning the Newmarket July course's flagship race at the start of this month, a Class 1, which puts her among the best of her generation. Three top-level wins before midsummer as a three-year-old is the kind of form that gets people very excited very quickly.

Her regular partner is jockey Clifford Lee, and the combination has become something special — four wins from six rides together, winning at a rate of 67%, or roughly two in every three times they team up. That kind of consistency between horse and jockey is rare, and it speaks to a horse who has a settled, confident routine around her.

Karl Burke trains her from his yard in Coverham, North Yorkshire, and it has been a productive season: 145 winners sent out this year from a stable that clearly knows what it is doing. Burke has spoken openly about Venetian Sun being the standout filly in Britain at two, a horse he rates as highly as any trained by the celebrated Aidan O'Brien — high praise from a man not given to exaggeration. The slight cloud on the horizon is the question of stamina. After her Newmarket run, Burke was candid: she hit the front too soon, had no cover, and faded late. The Commonwealth Cup — a shorter, faster race — is now the likely direction, suggesting the team has decided to play to her strengths rather than keep asking questions she may not be able to answer.

She raced just yesterday, which means this story is still unfolding in real time. Whatever comes next, Venetian Sun has already made 2025 a season to remember.