King Gris

Those two wins came in quick succession back in December 2025 — first at Ayr on the 1st, then at Hexham nine days later on the 10th. Back-to-back wins across two different tracks in under a fortnight suggests a horse that had found its feet and was in the form of its life. At the level King Gris typically runs at — Class 4, one of the mid-tier levels of British racing — it has won 1 from 4 races at that grade, a 25% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 4. That's respectable without being dominant, which means there's room to progress.

Since that Hexham win five months ago, the form has been patchy. The most recent runs read 5-9-1-1-5 going back through the sequence, and the horse has raced as recently as yesterday — so it is very much active and being campaigned regularly. The 9th-place finish in there is the one blot, but two wins sitting in the middle of that sequence show this isn't a horse that simply makes up the numbers. It competes, and when conditions fall right, it wins.

At six years old, King Gris is entering what is often a horse's prime. With Elliott's operation firing at the rate it is this season — 210 winners is a number that would be extraordinary for almost any other yard in the sport — the platform is there for King Gris to build on what December showed. Whether another winning streak is around the corner is impossible to say, but the ingredients are in place: a trainer at the top of his game, a horse with proven winning ability, and a career record that says this one is competitive more often than not.