Maghlaak

The peak of his career so far came at Goodwood in May 2024, where he won one of the top races in Britain at Class 2 level. Jockey Jim Crowley, who has partnered him to 2 wins from just 5 rides together — a 40% conversion rate that speaks for itself — kept things brief afterwards, simply noting the horse had carried plenty of weight and done it well. That understatement probably does Maghlaak a favour. Goodwood is a notoriously tricky, undulating track that punishes horses who can't handle pressure and changes of pace. He has won 2 from 4 there. That is not a fluke; that is a course specialist.

Trainer Mark Walford, who operates out of Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire and has sent out 35 winners already this season, has been open about where he thinks Maghlaak belongs. He has described him as a talented horse who likes to get his toe in — meaning soft, wet ground — and believes a step up in distance could suit him well. The yard bought him as a dual-purpose horse with serious breeding behind him, his dam having won the Guineas, and there has always been a sense that his class would surface when the conditions aligned.

His last win came at Southwell five months ago, and his recent run of form — finishing sixth most recently, with a win slotted in before that — suggests he is one of those horses who needs everything to click: the trip, the ground, the right race. When it does, he delivers. He is not an every-week winner, but at his best, on a wet day at the right distance, Maghlaak is a horse worth watching closely.