Clansman

The most striking thing about Clansman is what happens when the weather turns nasty. On wet, muddy ground, he is transformed — three wins from just five races on those conditions, a remarkable 60% success rate. That means when the heavens open and trainers are pulling horses out of entries left, right and centre, Liam Bailey's team at Middleham will be looking at Clansman's name on the board with something close to excitement. Most horses tolerate bad ground. Clansman actively thrives on it.

His partnership with jockey Billy Garritty is worth paying attention to too. Together they've raced 13 times and won four of them — roughly 1 in every 3 — which is a meaningful number at this level. That's the kind of combination the yard quietly trust when it matters. Clansman won just this week at Southwell on 29 April 2026, and his recent form of two wins from his last six races confirms he's in very good shape right now, not winding down.

He is a course specialist at Ayr as well, winning two of six races there — and at a track where many horses never win at all, returning twice suggests Bailey knows exactly where to place him. The yard itself has been firing on all cylinders this season with 18 winners, so Clansman is part of a team that clearly knows what it's doing.

The one honest note: his overall record at Class 4 level — just 1 win from 13 races — suggests he finds it tough against the better horses in that bracket. But zoom out and you see a horse that has earned over the course of a long career by being placed 21 times and winning 8. He first got his head in front at Redcar back in April 2022, and four years later he's still at it, still winning. At eight years old, with the right conditions underfoot, Clansman is absolutely still a horse to keep onside.