Zephlyn

The partnership between Zephlyn and jockey Jason Hart stands out sharply. Hart has ridden the horse 13 times and won on four of those occasions, a 31 per cent win rate that dwarfs Zephlyn's overall 10 per cent record. This is a meaningful finding: Hart knows what to do with this horse, and the trainer Ewan Whillans, based in the Scottish Borders, clearly trusts him in the saddle. Whillans's yard has been productive this season with 28 winners, so the infrastructure around Zephlyn is functioning well.

At Class 6 level — the lower tiers of British racing — Zephlyn has won four of 21 races, nearly a 19 per cent win rate there. It is a horse that understands how to compete among lesser opposition. On normal ground, it has won three times from 18 attempts, suggesting decent surface preferences. Most intriguingly, Catterick Bridge has become something of a home track. Zephlyn has won twice from eight races at the venue, but that second win came on 24 May 2025 — now 15 months in the past. Recent form has been blunt: the horse ran sixth, fourth, sixth, and then — after a gap — seventh, sixth, and sixth again. Nothing remotely close to the frame.

At seven years old, after such a prolonged absence from the winner's circle, Zephlyn is approaching the stage where consistency at lower levels becomes harder to sustain. Whether Hart gets a fresh opportunity to work his apparent magic remains to be seen, but the current losing run suggests this may be a horse whose best days are behind it.