Haatem

The standout thread running through Haatem's career is Ascot. Some horses simply love a track, and this one has won twice from just four visits to the famous Berkshire course — that's a 50% win rate at one of the most competitive venues in the country. Crucially, those wins have come at Class 1 level, the absolute pinnacle of British racing. What makes the record even more striking is that it spans two consecutive Royal Ascot meetings — winning there in June 2024 and again in June 2025. Doing it once at Royal Ascot is a serious achievement. Doing it twice in a row suggests it is no fluke.

The Class 1 wins at Newmarket and Goodwood round out a profile of a horse that has taken on the best and beaten them regularly. First winning at Bath in May 2023, Haatem progressed quickly and sharply — three top-level wins followed within the next 13 months, with a fourth added at last year's Royal Ascot. That kind of trajectory from a modest opening win to the sport's biggest stages is exactly what you hope for in a talented young horse.

Haatem is trained by Richard Hannon, one of Britain's most prolific trainers, whose yard has sent out 113 winners already this season — a operation firing on all cylinders. Regular jockey Sean Levey has ridden the horse in 7 of its 17 races, winning 2 of them, and the partnership appears well established. The one note of caution is that Haatem hasn't raced for roughly seven months, returning from a significant break. Recent form showed a win and a third in six runs, but a sixth-place finish in the most recent race before the break suggests there is a question mark to answer on the way back. Given what this horse has done at Ascot before, though, it would be a brave person to write it off.