Zafaan

The key to understanding Zafaan is ground and distance. On normal conditions, this horse transforms: 2 wins from 10 races at a 20% win rate, meaning it wins 1 in every 5 races when the ground is right. That is a dramatic contrast to its overall figures, and it tells you that when the conditions suit, Zafaan is a different animal entirely. It also finds its best form over seven furlongs to a mile — the equivalent of a middle-distance sprinter rather than a stayer — picking up 1 win from 6 races at those trips.

Class 6 is where Zafaan lives, which puts it at the entry level of the British racing pyramid. Winning there is still winning, though, and Zafaan has done it twice: first at Doncaster in May 2023, and most recently at Great Yarmouth in June 2025. That second win came almost exactly eleven months ago, and the six races since have brought a second place and little else. It raced just yesterday, so this is a horse very much in the thick of its campaign.

The partnership with jockey Harry Bannister is one area that has yet to click — 0 wins from 5 races together. That is not necessarily a crisis, but it is the kind of stat that makes you wonder whether a change in the saddle might shake things loose. Charlie Clover's yard has sent out 24 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to find the winning post. Whether Zafaan can rediscover its moment is the open question — but put it on normal ground, at a mile, and it has a genuine habit of making things interesting.