Shafdar

The career has built nicely. Shafdar broke through for a first win at Chelmsford back in February 2026, then followed it up with a second win at Epsom Downs just last week — one of the most famous tracks in Britain, a switchback course full of cambers and gradients that sorts out the genuine horses from the ones just going through the motions. Winning there is a proper test, and Shafdar passed it. From its last six races, the record reads two wins, a second, and a third, which tells you this is a horse in decent form right now.

Edward Greatrex has been the regular partner, riding Shafdar in five of its eight races and winning two of them — a win rate of 40%, or two from every five rides together. That is a strong connection between horse and jockey, and when the same rider keeps being booked for the same horse, it usually means something is clicking between them. Greatrex clearly knows what makes this one tick.

Behind the scenes, the operation is in good hands. Trainer Ian Williams runs his yard out of Portway in Worcestershire and has had 96 winners already this season — a number that reflects a busy, well-organised stable that knows how to get horses ready to perform. Shafdar is one of its contributors to that tally, and with the horse having raced just one day ago and still active, there is clearly more to come.

At 4 years old, Shafdar is still relatively lightly raced — only eight races on the clock — which means there is room to find out exactly how good it can be. The Epsom win in particular is the kind of result that opens doors to better opportunities, and a horse winning 1 in every 4 races it enters, with form as consistent as this, is worth keeping an eye on.