Roger Varian guides Graham Clark through his hopes and expectations as the 2026 Flat season starts to go through the gears.
Group One success might have eluded trainer Roger Varian last year, but one look at his team for this season suggests fighting it out for top level honours will pose no problems.
For just the third year in his career the Newmarket handler failed to hit the target at the highest level in 2025, although the figures show it was far from a frustrating campaign. A haul of 89 domestic winners, which included victory for My Cloud in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, helped Varian smash through the £2 million barrier for the fifth season in a row, and ninth in total since taking out his licence in 2011.
It has already been a solid start for Varian this season with Saddadd showcasing his talents by registering the first pattern race success of his career with a smooth success in the Group Three bet365 Gordon Richard Stakes at Sandown Park. And although a setback has ruled My Cloud out of the campaign, there are plenty of others in behind that, having been nurtured patiently, look set to hit the heights this season and get Varian back in the hunt for more Group One honours.
Varian said: “It was a respectful season, numerically. We lacked a Group One win, which is only the third season we haven’t had one. It seems to be every fifth year as we didn’t have a Group One winner in 2015 and in 2020.
“We've got to get back on the Group One table this year. We got great pleasure out of My Cloud winning at Royal Ascot, however unfortunately he will not be part of the team this season as he has had a setback and will be out for the year which breaks my heart.
“We nearly bagged the St Leger, which would have been our third one, but it was always going to be a rebuilding year after what Charyn had done the year before. I thought we laid some nice foundations for this year, and I think we can still be satisfied with last year, but only satisfied as you know we always want more, but it keeps us hungry."
