Fitzella

Her first win came at Haydock Park in May 2025, but it was what happened two months later that really announced her. On 26 July at Ascot, she won a Class 1 race — one of the biggest races in Britain — and she did it in characteristically bold fashion. Jockey Oisin Murphy had planned to hold her up and produce her late, but Fitzella had other ideas, jumping out of the stalls so sharply that Murphy switched to Plan B on the spot and let her bowl along. It worked beautifully. Trainer Hugo Palmer, based in Cheshire, noted that Murphy "didn't go hard" — meaning Fitzella won with something in reserve, which is exactly what you want to see at this level.

There have been rough edges, too. At the Cheveley Park — a prestigious late-season race — she clattered the stalls before the off, hurt her head, and never quite found her rhythm. Palmer is candid that she probably didn't show her true ability that day. Before that, at Deauville, she finished second in what her trainer described as a "massive race" — beaten only by a rival Palmer cheerfully admitted would be very difficult to avoid meeting again if she were trained in Britain. The implication being: Fitzella might well have won a Group 2 race in France impressively enough to make her one of the leading contenders for the 1,000 Guineas.

Palmer's yard has been in fine form this season, sending out 66 winners, and Fitzella looks like one of their flagship horses heading into next year. The big question is what distance suits her best as a three-year-old — that is still being worked out. But a horse who wins 2 from 3 in top-level races, recovers from setbacks, and keeps drawing quotes like "devastating" and "remarkable class" from her own trainer is one well worth following.