Hillsin

The level at which Hillsin operates is telling. Class 5 is the bread-and-butter level of British racing — not the glamour end — and that is where Hillsin has done its best work, winning 3 of 14 races at that grade, or just over 1 in every 5. That is a genuinely solid record at that level, suggesting Alan Jones has found the right kind of races for this horse to go to war in.

The jockey partnership with James Turner is worth noting. In 8 races together, Turner has ridden Hillsin to 2 wins — a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides. That is a meaningful number, well above Hillsin's overall record, and the kind of combination a trainer tends to return to for a reason. Jones' yard has sent out 4 winners this season, so Hillsin accounts for a significant chunk of that tally.

The horse's recent form is a little mixed. A win at Exeter in October 2025 was followed by a third place and then a couple of blank runs, but crucially Hillsin raced just yesterday, confirming it is fit, active, and being kept busy. The first career win came at Newton Abbot in May 2024 — a late bloomer in that sense, getting off the mark as a seven-year-old, which is unusual but not unheard of at this level. Some horses simply take time to find their feet, or need the right race to fall their way.

At eight, Hillsin is not a horse anyone is dreaming big dreams about. But it has carved out a quiet niche — winning at Class 5 level, thriving with an established jockey, and clearly still being aimed at races it can be competitive in. In a sport full of horses that flame out young or drift into obscurity, that kind of steady, late-career reliability is its own small story.