Daizen

Look at the last six races in reverse order and you see a story taking shape: a win, a close second, then a dip into mid-pack finishes, before the horse has clicked back into gear with two wins from the last six outings. That kind of resurgence — going from tenth to first — tells you something is working well at the moment. The most recent victory came at Thirsk just this week, so Daizen arrives at the track in the best form of its career and with serious momentum behind it.

Rebecca Menzies trains the horse from her yard in Morden, County Durham, and it's a stable in fine fettle right now. Thirty-six winners sent out already this season is a meaningful number — it speaks to a team that knows how to get a horse ready to run its best on the day. When a trainer is firing like that, you pay attention to their horses.

At Class 5 level — the bread-and-butter tier of British racing — Daizen has won 1 from 3, which works out at roughly 1 in every 3 races at that level. That's a solid return, and it suggests the horse is competitive and well-placed by its trainer. The first win came at Ayr back in September 2025, and the follow-up at Thirsk this week confirms that wasn't a one-off. Two wins at two different tracks also hints at a horse that travels and adapts rather than one that needs everything to fall perfectly.

The combination of current form, an in-form yard, and a horse still only three years old — with plenty of racing ahead — makes Daizen one worth keeping an eye on.