Zimmerman

Put Zimmerman on wet or muddy ground and he becomes a different proposition. On soft ground he has won 3 times from 8 races — that is 38%, or winning more than 1 in every 3 times out. His trainer Tim Easterby, who operates a hugely productive yard in North Yorkshire and has sent out 128 winners already this season, knows exactly what his horse needs: "Zimmerman loves soft ground and stays two miles, so we'll find something for him if it stays wet." That is not hedging — that is a trainer who understands his horse well enough to be patient with him.

His best track is Haydock Park, where he has won 2 from 5 races. That might not sound dramatic, but winning 40% of your visits to any course is the kind of record that makes punters pay attention. It was at Haydock where he got his career started back in May 2022, and jockey James Sullivan noted after one win there that Zimmerman "switched off" in the race — a sign of a horse that settles and conserves energy rather than burning himself out early. His most recent win came at York in July 2024, a result Easterby felt confident about even when it briefly went to the stewards' room, because the horse had done nothing wrong.

Since that York win, though, Zimmerman has gone 23 months and six races without adding to his tally. His recent form reads 6-3-2-6-8-3 — a couple of decent placed efforts mixed in with some disappointing finishes. He is not out of form entirely, but he has not found the winner's enclosure. At seven, and competing mostly at Class 4 level — a solid, mid-tier standard — he is not a horse chasing the biggest prizes. Easterby has previously had ambitions for him in long-distance races like the Chester Cup and Northumberland Plate, calling him "an improving staying horse", which suggests there may still be a chapter left to write. He raced just yesterday, so the story is very much still live.