Kazansky

His two wins came in quick succession over Christmas 2025. The first, at Cork in December, was not without a slice of fortune — Gordon Elliott admitted after the race that luck played a part — but he was quick to add that Kazansky is a genuine galloper who stays well. A horse that stays well is one who keeps finding more energy the longer the race goes on, which is a valuable and increasingly rare quality. The second win came at Limerick on St Stephen's Day, stepping up in distance, and jockey Danny Gilligan described it as a "lovely, tough performance" — the kind of words used when a horse impresses you by doing something difficult rather than something easy.

What has happened since is arguably more interesting than the wins themselves. Kazansky ran in a Grade 1 — one of the very best races in the calendar — at the Dublin Racing Festival, lining up against a horse called Doctor Steinberg, and ran well. He did not win, but holding his own at that level after just two career wins tells you he is moving in the right direction fast. Elliott has said publicly he could see him running a big race in the Albert Bartlett, a prestigious race at the Cheltenham Festival, and that the trip and conditions of that race should suit him. When a trainer of Elliott's standing — his yard has sent out 209 winners this season alone — singles out a horse for Cheltenham, it is worth taking seriously.

Kazansky is currently active and his most recent runs suggest a horse on the rise rather than one who has found his ceiling. Two wins, four places, and a competitive run in a Grade 1 from just seven races is a compact but genuinely promising record for a six-year-old with what looks like more to come.