Badri

Trainer Michael Herrington, who has sent out 33 winners already this season, acquired Badri from Ruth Carr's yard, where the horse had been thriving. Herrington has been quick to credit Carr's work, and the plan is simple: keep doing what works. That means sprint races, and specifically the kind of sharp, fast five-furlong contests where Badri can come from off the pace and let loose late. That style of running made him a near-miss at Newcastle recently, finishing second in a way that caught the eye. Herrington has bigger targets in mind, with the Portland Handicap among the races being considered.

What's fascinating is how the team's thinking on Badri has evolved. He was once considered purely a horse for all-weather tracks — the artificial surfaces that keep racing going through winter — and nobody expected much from him on grass. Then he romped home at Beverley, and the assumptions had to be rethought. His numbers on different surfaces back this up in an interesting way: he wins roughly 1 in every 4 races (29%, or 2 from 7) on fast, dry ground, and 1 in every 4.5 races (22%, or 2 from 9) on wet or muddy ground. He seems to simply be a horse that gets on with the job whatever conditions he faces.

His most trusted partner in the saddle has been Ryan Sexton, who has ridden him in 10 races and come away with 2 wins — a win rate of 20%, or 1 in every 5 rides together, which is comfortably above Badri's overall average. The last win came at Windsor in July 2025, and after six races without a victory since, there will be a quiet impatience around the yard to get back to the winner's enclosure. Badri raced just yesterday, so the campaign is very much alive.