Shes Perfect

Her one win came at Haydock Park in August 2024, and by all accounts it wasn't a fluke. Fellowes admitted afterwards that she had been working so well at home beforehand that the result wasn't a massive surprise — always a telling sign that a trainer genuinely believes in what they have. After that win, he was considering taking her to the Rockfel Stakes, one of the more prestigious races for young horses, or a £100,000 restricted final at Goodwood. The fact those options were even on the table tells you plenty about the regard she was held in.

Since then, the team have been testing her at longer distances and on different tracks, including trips to France, and the picture that has emerged is instructive. At Chantilly, her jockey Kieran felt she simply had too much speed for her own good — she never really settled, burned energy early, and emptied out badly in the final stretch. At Longchamp, she finished third but was demoted after a stewards' inquiry, which left Fellowes frustrated and openly uncertain about whether French rules would have treated the incident differently from how it would have been handled at home. He described himself as gutted. That kind of reaction from a trainer who stays measured in public tells you the team rate this horse highly and feel a little hard done by.

The conclusion Fellowes has drawn from the French experiment is a straightforward one: bring her back to a mile, where her natural speed becomes an asset rather than a liability. She is currently active, having raced just yesterday, and the yard is in good form with 20 winners on the board this season. With a simpler task ahead of her and a trainer who clearly knows what makes her tick, Shes Perfect looks like a horse whose best days are still in front of her.