Motazzen

The most striking thing about Motazzen is what wet or muddy ground does for him. On soft or heavy going, he has won 4 from 9 races — that is nearly 1 in every 2, a completely different proposition to the horse that plugs away on drier surfaces. Trainers talk endlessly about horses that "need the rain to fall," and Motazzen is the textbook example. When the ground is testing, his win rate jumps to 44%. When it is not, he is much harder to find in the frame.

He is also a genuine course specialist at Fontwell Park, a tight, idiosyncratic circuit in West Sussex that suits certain types of horses and baffles others. Motazzen has won 3 from 7 races there — that is 3 wins from just 7 visits, a record that tells you the track genuinely suits the way he travels and jumps. His most recent win came at Fontwell just seven weeks ago, in March 2026, so the spark is still very much there. Before all of this, he was a different horse entirely — bought from the Shadwell dispersal having won twice in France for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, then gelded and gradually finding his feet for Henrietta Knight's yard at West Lockinge in Oxfordshire.

Knight, one of racing's most respected names, has sent out 15 winners this season, and Motazzen fits the patient, placement-focused approach her yard is known for. His regular jockey Brendan Powell has partnered him 12 times for 1 win, though the horse clearly performs for whoever rides him when conditions are right. The quote from jockey Paul O'Brien after a Southwell win captures the horse's character well — "having a good old look around in front," he said, which is the kind of thing you say about a horse that knows it has done enough and is enjoying the moment. A big Class 2 win at Nottingham back in September 2023 showed he can step up when asked. He has raced just one day ago, so whatever comes next, this is a horse very much in the middle of his story.