Skukuza

His career took a sharp detour after one of the highlights of the British flat season. Last year he ran at Royal Ascot in the Britannia, one of the most competitive races of the week, and finished second. It was a performance that suggested a horse heading upward — and then he picked up an injury that wiped out the rest of his season. A year on the sidelines can take the edge off a horse, or it can leave an untapped horse with something still to prove. With Skukuza, it appears to be the latter.

He returned to action at Haydock and finished fifth, but Dunlop was openly pleased with that run — describing it as significant improvement to come, given the horse had been off for twelve months. The patience paid off quickly. Shortly after, Skukuza won at The Curragh in Ireland, and by the stable's own account it wasn't particularly close — the further the race went, the more comfortable he looked. That kind of win, where a horse is still finding more at the line, is exactly what a trainer wants to see.

What makes Skukuza genuinely compelling is the ground. He has won 3 of his 8 races on normal conditions — 38%, which is a remarkable conversion rate and nearly double his overall figures. The Curragh win came after Dunlop made a deliberate trip to Ireland to find rain-softened ground, which tells you the team knows exactly what this horse needs. His record on normal ground suggests that when conditions suit him, he becomes a different animal.

When Ryan Moore has been in the saddle, Skukuza has won 2 of their 5 races together — 40%, well above his overall average. He has yet to win at the top level, going 0 from 3 in Class 2 company, but with the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot reportedly on the agenda, that particular gap in his record may not last much longer. He raced just yesterday and is very much a horse in form.