Shades Of May

That first win came at Chelmsford in February 2026, and then Shades Of May went back out and won again at Southwell in April. Two different tracks, two wins in the space of roughly eight weeks — that is not a fluke, that is a horse finding its feet. The yard has been in decent form generally, sending out 14 winners this season, so there is clearly something working well at Upper Lambourn right now.

The conditions matter here. On normal ground, Shades Of May wins 2 from 11 races — that is roughly 1 in every 5 or 6 attempts, which is a meaningful return for a horse operating at the lower end of the racing ladder. Almost all of its racing has come in Class 6 company, the entry-level tier, where it has won just 1 from 14 (around 7%, or roughly 1 in every 14 tries at that level overall). The fact that it is now picking up wins suggests it has either improved with age or found the right conditions at last.

One slight puzzle in the record is the partnership with jockey George Bass, who has ridden Shades Of May seven times without a win. Both victories have come with someone else in the saddle. That is not necessarily damning — sample sizes at this level can be small and circumstances vary — but it is the kind of detail a curious observer would want to keep an eye on. Shades Of May raced just yesterday and is clearly in an active spell. For a horse that spent most of its career placed or beaten, the last two months look like a genuine change of gear.