Under The Radar: 10 British-Trained Three-Year-Olds to Follow in 2026

[Wandering Eyes]

The countdown to the start of the Flat season proper stepped up a gear last week, thanks in no small part to a certain nine-year-old gelding by Blue Bresil and his explosive exploits at Southwell. Stiffer tasks lie ahead for Constitution Hill in the coming months, likewise the list of largely untested three-year-olds compiled below. From a 40/1 contender for the 1,000 Guineas to a pair of 83-rated handicap prospects, here are 10 under-the-radar names who will hopefully prove profitable to follow during the British turf season.

Accredit (GB)
Dubawi (Ire) colt out of Entitle (GB) (Dansili {GB})
Form: 311
Trainer(s): John and Thady Gosden

Last seen winning a one-mile novice at Haydock by 11 lengths, Accredit has already shown an above-average level of ability in the famous Juddmonte silks, and yet the feeling remains that we've only scratched the surface of his potential.

Off the mark at the second attempt when easily winning a Sandown maiden in September, Accredit was then sent off the 1/10 favourite to follow up on Merseyside in what was, admittedly, a very thin race. Conceding 7lb to each of his six rivals, the son of Dubawi barely came out of second gear as he sprinted clear in the final furlong to double his career tally. It was most definitely a case of style over substance – the runner-up remains a maiden after four starts and has a BHA rating of just 69 – but the lack of credible opposition shouldn't be held against the winner when he inevitably steps up in grade as a three-year-old.

Certainly, Accredit has the pedigree to suggest he can hold his own at a higher level as the first winner out of the G3 Musidora Stakes runner-up Entitle, a half-sister to none other than Enable. He's raced exclusively so far on ground with the word 'soft' in the official description, so it remains to be seen how he'll handle a slicker surface, but there's little doubt that he has the makings of a smart performer over middle-distances.

 

Bay Of Brilliance (GB)
New Bay (GB) colt out of Incroyable (Singspiel {Ire})
Form: 511
Trainer: Ralph Beckett

Bay Of Brilliance possesses a very similar profile to that of Accredit, having followed an encouraging debut effort with a pair of straightforward victories at very short odds, with his breakthrough win at Goodwood last September coming in what was arguably one of the most informative maidens run anywhere in 2025.

Sent off the 10/11 favourite in a field of eight, Bay Of Brilliance proved well suited by the step up to 10 furlongs on soft ground at Goodwood, hitting the front inside the final two furlongs and then finding plenty when challenged by the eventual runner-up to win by three quarters of a length. Crucially, his closest pursuer, Study Of Words (Frankel), is now rated 95 after winning by 15 lengths on his final two-year-old outing at Newmarket, while Pearl River (Cotai Glory) and A Taste Of Glory (Soldier Hollow) have also been among the winners since finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the East Sussex track.

Bay Of Brilliance, meanwhile, won by eight and a half lengths when dropping down to nine furlongs for a novice event at Redcar the following month, producing another stamina-laden performance to make every yard of the running. A half-brother to the Ebor and Cheltenham Festival winner Absurde (Fastnet Rock), he seems sure to have more to offer as his stamina is drawn out further, with a Derby trial appealing as an obvious starting point in the spring.

 

Lost Boys (Ire)
Night Of Thunder (Ire) colt out of Ocean Wave (GB) (Le Havre {Ire})
Form: 331
Trainer: David Menuisier

Lost Boys ran well in good maidens at Newbury and Ascot last summer, notably finishing behind the subsequent G2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) on the first occasion, before deservedly opening his account when contesting a similar event at Haydock towards the end of September.

The previous experience gained by Lost Boys stood him in good stead at Haydock against a couple of promising newcomers who ran green under pressure. Always to the fore in the hands of Hector Crouch, he proved a willing partner when shaken up entering the final two furlongs, ultimately beating Godolphin's Poseidon's Warrior (Sea The Stars) by three quarters of a length. The runner-up then showed the benefit of that initial outing when winning by five lengths at Goodwood a couple of weeks later, while Golden Knight (Camelot) went from finishing fourth at Haydock to being a good winner at Newmarket on his second start.

Described as being “quite big and immature” by trainer David Menuisier, Lost Boys is surely the type to step forward again as he fills into his frame as a three-year-old. He should be suited by a step up to 10 furlongs, too, and there should be a good handicap or two to be won with him, with the strength of his juvenile form suggesting an opening BHA mark of 83 is more than fair.

 

Maltese Cross (Fr)
Sea The Stars (Ire) colt out of Nabatea (Ger) (Camelot {GB})
Form: 21
Trainer: William Haggas

Maltese Cross finished one place ahead of Lost Boys when filling the runner-up spot on his debut at Ascot last September, before confirming the promise of that effort with a hard-fought victory at Newmarket later in the month.

Eight runners went to post for that one-mile maiden but, in the event, it was all about the two market principals as Maltese Cross and odds-on favourite Del Maro (Camelot) traded blows throughout the final furlong. The latter briefly appeared to be getting the upper hand on the uphill climb to the line, but Maltese Cross simply refused to be denied as he battled back against the rail to get the verdict by a head, with the first two pulling a couple of lengths clear of the newcomer, Balzac (Japan), in third.

Del Maro later advertised the strength of that form when returning to Newmarket to finish third (beaten two and a half lengths) behind the Derby favourite, Pierre Bonnard (Camelot), in the G3 Zetland Stakes. Whilst it's too early to say whether Epsom could be on the agenda for Maltese Cross, he's certainly one to follow when he tackles a mile and a half, with both his pedigree and the way he shaped at Newmarket suggesting that his future lies over that sort of trip.

 

Ottoman Empress (GB)
Zarak (Fr) filly out of Innevera (Fr) (Motivator {GB})
Form: 21
Trainer: Charlie Appleby

It would have been easy to populate this list entirely with horses from the Charlie Appleby yard, such is the apparent strength in depth in this division at Moulton Paddocks. However, in the interests of providing a diverse selection, we decided to limit it to one horse per trainer, with Ottoman Empress just about edging the vote among Appleby's array of bluebloods.

Ottoman Empress shaped encouragingly when filling the runner-up spot on her debut at Newmarket in September, passing the post three quarters of a length behind an exciting prospect for HM The King and HM The Queen, Golden Orbit (Sea The Stars). This filly then stepped up to a mile for another maiden at Yarmouth where, despite still looking far from the finished article, she was ultimately an authoritative winner, impressing most with her strength at the finish as she powered to a three-length victory.

The bare form of those efforts is nothing out of the ordinary as things stand, but Ottoman Empress has a pedigree to suggest the star potential she showed in glimpses at Yarmouth could be realised in the coming months. A 550,000gns purchase at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, she is a half-sister to Godolphin's high-class globetrotter Ottoman Fleet (Sea The Stars), as well as the Frankel colt who sold to the same connections for 2.2 million gns at Park Paddocks last year.

 

Queen Tamara (Ire)
Space Blues (Ire) filly out of Countess De Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire})
Form: 5212
Trainer: Harry Charlton

Queen Tamara's only win from four starts at two came in a lowly maiden at Chepstow, but her final effort when bumping into a huge improver at Newmarket was a career best which suggested she'll have no problem adding to her tally in handicaps in 2026.

Sent off the 7/4 favourite for that nursery, having attracted plenty of support, Queen Tamara appeared to have been let in lightly from an opening BHA mark of 79, but it turned out to be a much stronger contest than it first looked on paper. With the benefit of hindsight, she did well to be beaten just a neck by Quiescent (Pinatubo), a filly on the crest of a wave who would go on to win twice more before the end of the campaign to complete a four-timer, soaring from a mark of 80 to 104 following her easy Listed win at Saint-Cloud when last seen.

For good measure, Just Call Me Angel (Dark Angel), who was beaten three lengths when finishing third on the Rowley Mile, now has a rating of 95, having travelled to Italy the following month to win the G2 Premio Dormello.

Queen Tamara, meanwhile, has gone up just 4lb to a mark of 83. She's from a family that has done these connections well – her dam is a half-sister to their G2 York Stakes runner-up King's Gambit (Saxon Warrior) – and there is almost certainly more to come from this still lightly-raced filly when she steps up to a mile.

 

Ray Mon Dough (GB)
Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) colt out of Spain Blues (Fr) (Anabaa Blue {GB})
Form: 1
Trainer: Oliver Cole

From one of last year's first-crop sires to another, with Lingfield maiden winner Ray Mon Dough appealing as one of the most promising sons or daughters of Lope Y Fernandez that we've seen on a racecourse thus far.

Godolphin's Beccadelli (Pinatubo) was the 4/9 favourite for the six-furlong contest run on the Lingfield all-weather in November but, in the race itself, he was chasing in vein as Ray Mon Dough produced a dominant performance on debut to lead from pillar to post. At the line he was fully five lengths clear of Beccadelli – who defied a BHA mark of 81 when winning a Kempton nursery a few weeks later – with the time of the race suggesting there was no fluke about what Ray Mon Dough had achieved.

A half-brother to the G2 Rockfel Stakes scorer Spain Burg (Sageburg), Ray Mon Dough seems likely to stay at least seven furlongs, although the speed he showed at Lingfield suggests his connections needn't be in any rush to step him up in distance. Either way, he'd look a banker for a novice next time, before hopefully getting the opportunity to test the waters in Pattern company.

 

Sunday Girl (GB)
Frankel (GB) filly out of Sunday Star (GB) (Kodiac {GB})
Form: 3
Trainer: Ed Walker

Speaking of first-season stallions, Starman was the undoubted pick of the bunch when it came to the class of 2025, a huge source of pride for his owner-breeder, David Ward, who has been a massive supporter of the July Cup winner in his second career.

The Prettiest Star (Starman), runner-up in last year's Rockfel Stakes, looks a particularly bright prospect for Ward and Starman's trainer, Ed Walker, in 2026, but another filly who shouldn't be underestimated for the same connections is Sunday Girl, an eye-catching third when making her racecourse bow at Newbury last August. Beaten a total of four lengths on that occasion, she was unlucky not to finish much closer having been short of room from three furlongs out, before coming home strongly under a hands-and-heels ride once switched to the near-side rail.

The homebred Sunday Girl isn't a daughter of Starman, but she's arguably the next best thing as her dam – the G3 Oh So Sharp Stakes and G3 Summer Fillies' Stakes third Sunday Star – is a Kodiac half-sister to the Tally-Ho Stud sensation. Obviously, there's the possibility that she suffered a setback given that she didn't make it back to the racecourse in the autumn, but she has time on her side to confirm the immense promise of her debut. She ran there over six furlongs but has good prospects of staying a mile given Frankel's influence for stamina.

 

Time To Take Off (Ire)
Starman (GB) filly out of Tschierschen (Ire) (Acclamation {GB})
Form: 1
Trainer: James Tate

An altogether speedier proposition is this daughter of Starman, the appropriately-named Time To Take Off, who kicked off her career in style when winning a five-furlong maiden at Nottingham in October.

Admittedly, that probably wasn't the strongest contest of its type, but there was plenty to like about the professional manner in which Time To Take Off got the job done as the sole newcomer in the line-up. The official winning margin was just half a length, but she was arguably value for extra given how stylishly she moved to the head of affairs, before appearing to tire close home on rain-softened ground. The first two pulled two lengths clear of the remainder and the runner-up, Atticum (Ardad), went on to give the form a boost later in the month when winning a novice at Yarmouth by three and a half lengths.

Bought for €120,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, Time To Take Off is a half-sister to the top-class Cercene (Australia), the winner of last year's G1 Coronation Stakes, as well as the G3 Sovereign Stakes third Perotto (New Bay). This filly has clearly inherited plenty of her sire's speed and could be a black-type sprinter in the making for Jaber Abdullah.

 

Touleen (GB)
Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of Talaayeb (GB) (Dansili {GB})
Form: 115
Trainer: Owen Burrows

Last but not least, Touleen is well worth considering for the 1,000 Guineas at ante-post odds of 40/1, with a valid excuse having emerged in the aftermath of her below-par effort in the Rockfel Stakes when last seen.

The Rockfel, of course, was won in good style by 'TDN Rising Star' Zanthos (Sioux Nation), with Touleen finishing only fifth as the 11/10 favourite. However, the latter “scoped filthy” after the race, according to trainer Owen Burrows, so she is better judged on the form she'd shown in two previous starts, notably when following up her debut success at Newbury with another dominant performance at Leicester a few weeks later. On the latter occasion she beat the aforementioned Zanthos by three and a quarter lengths, drawing right away in the final furlong in the style of a filly potentially out of the very top drawer.

A daughter of Shadwell's G3 City Of York Stakes heroine Talaayeb, who also finished fourth in the 1,000 Guineas, Touleen will be well worth looking out for in a trial for that Classic at the likes of Newmarket or Newbury. Those generous odds of 40/1 – twice the price of Zanthos, incidentally – will surely be a thing of the past if she can get back on track with a good performance there.

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