Buckna

The most significant development this season has been a switch from hurdles to chasing — racing over the larger, more demanding fences. It didn't start smoothly; Buckna came home from his first chase with cuts on his legs. But rather than rattling his confidence, it seems to have lit a fire. He won his very next race, then won again after that, the second victory coming at Hereford by ten lengths. That is not a narrow, scrappy win — that is a horse putting rivals firmly in their place.

Hereford is clearly his happy hunting ground. He has won 2 of his 3 races there, making him one of those horses who simply performs when the scenery is right. Two wins from three at the same track is the kind of record that makes trainers plan their seasons around a venue. His most recent win there came in December 2025, and with his last run just a day ago, he is very much in the thick of an active campaign.

Warren Greatrex, who trains Buckna out of Upper Lambourn in Berkshire, has been sending out winners at a serious rate this season — 50 for the yard already — and he is openly excited about where this horse is heading. Greatrex describes him as a big horse, far from the finished article, with a future as a staying chaser. In racing terms, that means longer distances over fences as he matures and fills into his frame. The best, in other words, is expected to be ahead of him.

Regular jockey James Bowen has yet to get off the mark in their eight races together, but that record sat at zero wins before the chasing switch too, so it would be unfair to read too much into it. What matters is that Buckna is a horse with a trainer who clearly believes in him, a track he loves, and a change of discipline that has already produced back-to-back wins. At six, with room to grow, the ten-length demolition job at Hereford may end up being the least impressive thing he does.