Blue Anthem

The sweet spot for distance is somewhere between seven furlongs and a mile — Blue Anthem has won 2 of its 5 races at those trips, which works out at 40%. That might sound modest, but in a sport where margins are tiny and variables are everywhere, finding a horse that wins two in every five races at its preferred distance and ground is exactly the kind of pattern that gets people excited. It races mainly at Class 5 level, which is the entry-level tier of the British racing ladder, and has won 2 of its 8 races there.

Trained out of Kildare by Gerard O'Leary — a yard that has sent out 11 winners this season — Blue Anthem made its first career appearance at a winner's enclosure at Wolverhampton in February 2025, then followed up with what remains its most recent win at Thirsk in June 2025. Billy Loughnane is the jockey who brings the best out of it: the pair have won 2 of their 7 races together, a win rate of roughly 1 in 3.5, which is a genuinely strong partnership by any measure.

The honest caveat is that Blue Anthem has not won in its last 6 races, and recent form reads 8th, 13th, a non-completion, 5th, 9th, and 2nd — patchy at best. The second place is a small flicker of hope, but this is a horse that has gone nearly a year since its last victory. It raced just yesterday, so it is very much in active training and searching for form. When conditions finally line up — dry ground, the right distance, Loughnane in the saddle — there is a real case that Blue Anthem can find the winner's circle again. Whether that day comes soon is the question.