Juan Bermudez

Three wins from seven races at Stratford is a remarkable record for any horse at any level. Nearly half his visits to that track have ended in victory, which is the kind of ratio most racehorses never get close to. Whether it is the shape of the course, the ground, or something in the atmosphere, Juan Bermudez simply runs better there than anywhere else. His most recent win came at Stratford on 17 June 2025, and the yard will almost certainly be plotting a return.

Away from his favourite venue, life is harder. He competes mainly in Class 4 races — solid, competitive mid-tier events — and has won just 2 of his 15 races at that level, a win rate of around 13%, or roughly 1 in every 7 attempts. That gap between his Stratford record and his form everywhere else tells you almost everything about how to read his chances on a given day. His first career win, and his one notable scalp, came at Newmarket in October 2021 in a Class 2 race — one of the top tier events in British racing — which suggests there is genuine ability in there when conditions click.

His regular rider Lilly Pinchin has yet to get him into the winner's enclosure in six attempts together, though that is as much a reflection of where and when they have met up as anything else. Trainer Henry Oliver, based in Abberley in Worcestershire, has sent out 7 winners already this season — a yard in decent form. Recent runs have been quietly encouraging too: his last six results read 1-14-6-5-2-2 in reverse order, meaning he finished first, then had a rough patch, and has come back to post back-to-back second-place finishes most recently. That is a horse finding his feet again. With Stratford likely on the horizon, the timing feels right.