The Flying Seagull

That single win came at Chester on 29 June 2024, almost two years ago now, and it matters more than it might look at first glance. Chester is one of the quirkiest tracks in Britain — a tight, circular course where the draw (which starting position a horse gets) can make or break a race before it's even begun. Palmer has pointed out that The Flying Seagull has twice been handed a poor draw in recent runs and run perfectly well despite it, which suggests the horse may be doing more than the bare results let on. Recent form reading 4-6-4-5-3-10 from the last six races tells the story of a horse that keeps finding its way into the places without quite getting over the line — frustrating, but not without promise.

Palmer trains out of Malpas in Cheshire — conveniently close to Chester — and his yard has been in fine fettle this season, sending out 66 winners. He describes The Flying Seagull as a fun sprinter who travels well around Chester's unusual bends, and that track knowledge feels genuinely relevant. The horse has been gelded recently, which can sometimes unlock improvement in younger horses as they settle and focus. At Class 4 level — a solid but unspectacular tier of British racing — he has won 1 from 10 races at that grade, a 10% win rate, which is modest but not negligible.

The immediate target Palmer has flagged is a race at Lingfield on Good Friday, for which The Flying Seagull has already qualified. With a race just yesterday and that fixture on the horizon, the team clearly has a plan. Whether this is the horse that finally turns his luck around is anyone's guess, but with a sharp trainer, a track he clearly likes, and a yard firing on all cylinders, The Flying Seagull looks like exactly the kind of underdog worth watching.