Azahara Palace

The headline number, though, is Chepstow. At that track in South Wales, Azahara Palace has won 3 of just 4 races — a 75% win rate that is frankly extraordinary. To put that in context, most horses go through their entire careers without finding a course they own like that. Her first win came there in June 2023, and the track has clearly suited something about how she moves or how she races. Her trainer has also pointed out that she needs the speed taken out of the ground — wet or soft conditions — to be truly at her best, and she backs that up with 2 wins from 6 races on that kind of surface, winning roughly 1 in every 3 times the ground softens up.

Keatley, who has sent out 40 winners already this season from his North Yorkshire base, is clear-eyed about what this horse needs. He believes she is better over longer distances — around a mile and four furlongs — and that on the right surface, she could be competitive at a mark of 90, which would represent a genuine step up in class from the level she typically operates at. Most of her races have been at Class 4, where she has won 2 from 14, but there is a sense from the yard that the right conditions could unlock something more.

The recent form reads as mixed — a second place among her last six runs is encouraging, but she has not won since Hexham in December 2025, five months ago. She raced just yesterday and remains active, so the team clearly believe there is still a performance to come. For a horse this particular about her conditions, the wait for the right combination of course, distance, and ground is part of the story. When Chepstow comes up soft, this is the horse to watch.