Brilliant Star

The story starts at Great Yarmouth in April 2026, where Brilliant Star landed its first career win. That was just the beginning. A few weeks later, it backed that up with another victory at Kempton Park on 6 May — meaning it has won 2 of its last 4 races, with a place finish in between. The most recent run came just yesterday, so this is a horse very much in the thick of its season, being kept busy and seemingly thriving for it. That finishing position of fifth last time out is the one blip on an otherwise tidy record, but a single poor run tells you very little about a horse with this much to its name already.

The team behind Brilliant Star is about as strong as it gets in British racing. John and Thady Gosden train out of Newmarket in Suffolk, one of the sport's most celebrated yards, and they have sent out 140 winners already this season alone — a number that reflects a stable operating at full throttle. When a yard of that quality keeps running a young horse and keeps finding races for it, that usually means they like what they see at home. Trainers don't waste entries on horses they've lost faith in.

At 50% — winning 2 from 4 — Brilliant Star's record is the kind that makes people take notice. For context, even the very best racehorses rarely win more than a third of their races over a full career. To be sitting at half after four runs, with the horse still racing regularly, suggests either genuine talent, smart placement by the Gosden team, or — most likely — both. The next few months will tell us whether this is a horse with a big prize in its future or one that simply got off to a flying start. Either way, it is well worth watching.