Hurst Hill

That one win came at Newton Abbot on 4 July 2025, which is now ten months ago and still the only time Hurst Hill has made it to the front. Newton Abbot is a tight, turning track in Devon — the kind of place that suits horses who are sharp and adaptable rather than those who need a long straight to wind up — so it's worth noting whether that track suits him in a way others don't. Since that win, his last six runs read 2-2-4-2-6-7, which is a sequence that contains plenty of promise but no payoff. Two second places and two thirds in that stretch suggests he's still running well; he just can't find that final gear.

He races most often at Class 5, the level below the big prize money, and has won 1 from 12 at that level — about 1 in every 12 tries. He was out just yesterday, so he's a horse in active work right now. Trainer Seamus Mullins, based in Wiltshire, has had 10 winners out this season, a yard ticking along steadily. Jockey Daniel Sansom has been on board for 17 of Hurst Hill's 18 races — an unusually loyal partnership — and their shared win rate mirrors the career record exactly: 1 from 17, or roughly 1 in every 17 rides together.

Hurst Hill is not a horse who is going to frighten the best animals in the country, but he is exactly the kind of reliable, consistent competitor that makes up the backbone of British racing. He shows up, he runs his race, he nearly wins more often than he actually does. One day that might change — and at Newton Abbot, at least, he's already proved he can.