Star Anthem

That win came at Bath in May 2024, and trainer Clive Cox was clearly excited even then. Speaking afterwards, Cox noted that the horse had run well on debut at Newbury and that the form from that race had already proved its worth. He described Star Anthem as strong and well-grown, and was already eyeing a trip to Royal Ascot. That is not the kind of talk you hear after a routine day out — Cox saw something he liked.

What followed was a step into much tougher company. Star Anthem has raced five times at Class 2 level — among the highest-grade races in Britain — without winning, though Cox points out the horse finished eighth in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot on fast, dry ground when he would have preferred it wetter underfoot. For a young horse, running competitively at that level and making the frame in a couple of Group races in the autumn is genuinely encouraging. It is a long way from the career of a horse simply making up numbers.

Cox has also noted that Star Anthem has strengthened considerably over the winter, and speaks about him as one to follow this season. The horse tends to race over five to six-and-a-half furlongs, where his record reads one win from four attempts — 25%, or 1 in 4 — which is a solid ratio at that distance. Regular jockey Richard Kingscote has been aboard for five of those races, winning one, a rate of 1 in 5 together.

The concern, naturally, is that Star Anthem has not won in 24 months and his recent form — a 27th, an 8th, a 12th — is patchy at best. Racing at the top end of the sport is brutal, and consistency is hard to find. But Cox is a trainer who sent out 48 winners this season from his Lambourn yard, and he does not talk horses up lightly. If Star Anthem gets the wet ground he clearly prefers, there may still be a good day waiting.