The Notebook - 6th June 2026

Not every big performance results in a headline victory. Sometimes it is the subtle runs, the late headway, the eye-catching move through the field, or the effort despite unfavourable conditions, that signal a horse ready to strike next time. Here are four runners who caught the eye this week and may be worth adding to your tracker for future races...

It's A Breeze

Shaping better than the bare result suggested, It’s A Breeze finished fourth at Newton Abbot in a class 5 handicap chase, but I was encouraged that there will be races to be won with him. I think the three-mile two trip stretched him, because turning in he was travelling the best and looked the likely winner. It was a step back in the right direction after failing to complete on his previous two starts and dropping back to a trip within the range of two mile four will surely benefit this seven-year-old. He is still a maiden after 13 attempts, so I would advise caution before backing next time out and if I saw him over three miles I probably wouldn’t get involved.

Zambezi Fix

Zambezi Fix has raced 50 times in his career, winning four of those, finishing runner-up 12 times and third a further seven. In that time, he has amassed £98,043 in prize money and with trainer Bernard Llewellyn wanting to this horse to hit the six-figure mark, he will surely go close in the coming weeks. He ran a cracking race on this latest occasion, finishing a length behind stable-mate Cogital and he appeared to be travelling best as the pair quickened clear of the field. He is eleven years young now and is in the twilight stage of his career and back in the day, he was quite a talented operator, regularly placing off marks in the high 120s. Put him in the tracker for next time out.

May Encounter

I rarely put up a maiden in this column, but I was quite impressed with May Encounter who ran well for a long time in a class six contest at Nottingham. Her original handicap rating of 70 was simply too high for her ability levels at the early stage of her career. Since then, she has been slowly coming down the weights, and now off a mark of 60, she is becoming more and more competitive in each outing. If she dropped another couple of pounds next time she would have a good chance and it is likely she will be an attractive price too.

Southbank

There was a significant amount of market support behind Southbank on Monday at Lingfield and he was simply undone by a brilliant ride by Callum Hutchinson on Walking On Clouds. The latter, pinged the gates, set a strong pace to suit his mount and kicked clear on the bend, with his rivals unable to peg him back. Southbank, emerged from the pack and pulled away from the remainder of the field and I would probably say is the best horse in the race. He is better on the all-weather than turf and often runs a decent race when he is a short price. I am patiently waiting for him to be declared in the coming weeks.