The sport of horse racing is popular the world over, as the best thoroughbreds around compete against each other for the top prizes in their sport. Who are the best racehorses in 2025? We’re taking a look at some of the contenders both on the Flat and over jumps, as well as potential stars of the future.
Top Flat Racing Horses to Watch in 2025
We’ve picked out our top three horses to watch in 2025 as the stars of the Flat begin to get ready for a big summer.
Kyprios
· Winner of the Ascot Gold Cup in 2022 and again in 2024 after missing the race in between, Kyprios is the best stayer around and is owned by Moyglare Stud alongside the Coolmore operation and Georg von Opel of Westerberg racing. The son of Galileo is trained by the great Aidan O’Brien in Ireland and has 15 wins in his 19-race career so far.
· In 2024, Kyprios won all seven races he contested, including Group 1s in Ireland, Britain and France.
· A stout stayer, he has won over trips as short as 1m6f but excels in the stamina tests over 2m/2m4f. He typically likes to race just off the pace, but has been known to make the running, if required.
Rosallion
· The winner of five of his seven races so far, Rosallion is trained by Richard Hannon for top owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. He was second in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on his seasonal return in 2024 before winning the Irish Guineas and then the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
· All three runs last season were over the mile trip and the son of Blue Point and Rosaline will be aiming to cement himself as one of Europe’s top older milers in 2025.
· The Lockinge at Newbury in mid-May is set to be his first target.
Shadow Of Light
· The champion juvenile of 2024, Shadow Of Light will be back for a major Classic season in 2025 for trainer Charlie Appleby in the Godolphin blue.
· The Lope De Vega colt won four of his five races at two-years-old, including the Middle Park Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in the autumn.
· The 2000 Guineas at Newmarket looks the first major port of call in his Classic season. He has shown a liking for racing under patient tactics and will step up to the mile trip and maybe beyond this season.
Leading Jump Racing Horses of 2025
The jumps season is almost at an end, so what better time to mark down the top three performers of the campaign.
Kopek Des Bordes
· The rising star of the National Hunt game, Kopek Des Bordes won his first three starts over hurdles. He dazzled at the Dublin Racing Festival in February and then won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.
· He’s owned by Monabeg Investments Limited, with Charlie McCarthy and his family the faces behind that operation, and is trained by the genius that is Willie Mullins.
· Connections will now plot where they go next season, with a Champion Hurdle campaign possible, or the alternative of going novice chasing.
Inothewayurthinkin
· Inothewayurthinkin gave Gavin Cromwell his first ever Cheltenham Gold Cup win and he did so by denying Galopin Des Champs his third straight win in the Blue Riband.
· Connections of the JP McManus runner elected to miss the Grand National after that Cotswolds glory but, already, plans are afoot for next season with the Gold Cup defence likely to be key
Fact To File
· A simply stunning winner of the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival for McManus and Mark Walsh, Face To File is another top performer based with Mullins at Closutton.
· Things didn’t go to plan for him after his win in the John Durkan earlier in the season but he still looks every inch a Grade 1 performer and the Gold Cup dream could be back on come 2026.
Rising Stars: Young Horses with Big Potential
Some young horses with bright futures to be noted…
The Lion In Winter
· The Lion In Winter, Aidan O’Brien’s son of Sea The Stars, won both starts as a juvenile last season, bagging a Curragh maiden before winning the Acomb Stakes at York in August.
· The 2000 Guineas at Newmarket is off the agenda with the Ballydoyle handler targeting the Epsom Derby instead, a race that he has won a record 10 times.
Desert Flower
· Newmarket trainer Charlie Appleby will be thrilled to have a high-class filly on his books in the form of Desert Flower, a Godolphin-owned daughter of Night Of Thunder.
· She made the perfect start to her career last term, winning all four races, culminating in the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket having also landed the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster.
· The opening Fillies’ Classic at Newmarket on May 4th awaits.
Poniros
· A potential jumping star of the future? Poniros was rated 92 on the Flat with Ralph Beckett before being switched to join Willie Mullins in Ireland.
· Owner Tony Bloom could hardly have predicted what would come next, as his four-year-old ran for the first time over jumps in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and duly won at 100/1.
· The Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown in May could be next, and that target would reveal much more about his possible star-potential.
Best Racehorses Of All Time
The best racehorses of all time in both codes? Here are our top fives.
Flat
· Frankel
· Sea The Stars
· Mill Reef
· Shergar
· Dancing Brave
Jumps
· Arkle
· Kauto Star
· Istabraq
· Hurricane Fly
· Best Mate