El Galactico

Neil Mulholland trains him out of Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, a yard that has sent out 60 winners already this season — so this is not a place short of horses in form. Mulholland has been openly enthusiastic about El Galactico, describing him as improving all the time, getting bigger and stronger, and crucially having a good temperament. That last detail matters more than it sounds: a horse that is easy to handle and work with tends to keep improving, because the trainer can actually push him forward without fighting him every step of the way. The head lad rides him out every single day and is reportedly delighted with him, which in racing yards counts as a meaningful endorsement.

His first win came at Uttoxeter in June 2025, and he followed it up with a second win at Plumpton in November. At his typical level — Class 4, which sits in the middle of the racing ladder — he has won 2 from 3 races, a success rate of 67%, or two-thirds. That is a striking number. It means at the grade he is most regularly asked to compete at, he almost always delivers. After Plumpton, Mulholland noted that El Galactico travelled well, jumped well, and suggested he will stay three miles with time — meaning he expects the horse to get even better as the distances get longer, which is not something trainers say unless they genuinely believe it.

The last race, an eighth, was only yesterday, and the two blanks since Plumpton are worth watching. Whether that reflects a horse finding tougher company, an off day, or simply the natural ups and downs of a young horse still learning the job is the interesting question. What is clear is that the Mulholland yard believes there is plenty more to come — and a horse who wins two-thirds of his races at his natural level, and is still filling out physically, gives them reasonable grounds for optimism.