Al Barez

The partnership with jockey Jack Mitchell is one of the more interesting threads in his career. The two have raced together 11 times, and Mitchell has won 3 of those — a 27% win rate, or better than 1 in every 4. That is meaningfully better than Al Barez's overall record, and it suggests Mitchell understands this horse well. Oisin Murphy, who rode him to his most recent win at Southwell in April 2024, described him as "push-button to ride" with a great attitude — the kind of horse that makes a jockey's job feel easy.

That Southwell win is now 25 months in the rear-view mirror, and his last six races have produced three third places, a fourth, an eighth, and a ninth — consistent enough to suggest he is still competing honestly, but no win to show for it. His trainer admitted he lost his form over winter, which happens to plenty of horses, but noted he ran well on his return at Wolverhampton and was heading to Windsor next, looking well. There is optimism in that camp rather than concern.

On normal ground, Al Barez has won 2 of his 6 races — a 33% win rate, or 1 in 3 — which is his best surface record by some distance. Most of his racing has come at Class 3 level, one step below the top tier, where he has won 2 from 9. That is competitive racing, not easy pickings. Clover once described him as "still quite unexposed" with a "lovely pedigree," which in racing terms means there may be more to come — that the horse has not necessarily shown everything he is capable of. Whether that optimism proves right after a 25-month winless run is the question worth watching.