Vafortino

The career highlight reel reads beautifully. He opened his account at Ascot in May 2022, then followed that up with another win at Goodwood in September of the same year — two iconic venues, back to back. He then went all the way to Meydan in Dubai and won there in December 2023. A horse who has won at Ascot, Goodwood, Redcar and Meydan is no ordinary animal. His trainer at the time, Kevin Phillipart de Foy, noted that Vafortino runs very well fresh and can take a little time to warm to a race — something jockey James Doyle echoed after the Meydan win, recalling how he had to find room at the right moment before the horse delivered.

He is now trained by Charlie Fellowes at Newmarket, a yard that has sent out 20 winners this season and clearly knows how to keep a horse ticking along. Vafortino's best performances have come on normal ground — 3 wins from 12 races in those conditions, meaning he wins 1 in every 4 times when the track is right. That 25% win rate on good ground is a meaningful edge worth knowing about.

The honest part of the picture is that it has been 29 months since his last win at Meydan, and his recent form reads 8-7-10 — mid-pack finishes rather than serious contention. He raced just one day ago, so he is clearly still active and being kept in training. Whether the Fellowes yard can unlock another big-day performance from an experienced eight-year-old remains the question — but a horse with wins at Ascot, Goodwood and Dubai has more than earned the benefit of the doubt.