Al Hussar

The most interesting thread running through Al Hussar's career is what happens when Sam James is in the saddle. The pair have raced together 8 times and won 3 of them — a win rate of 38%, or just under 2 in every 5 races. That is genuinely striking. For context, Al Hussar wins roughly 1 in 6 races overall, so the jump in performance with James aboard is hard to ignore. There's clearly a partnership here that brings out something extra in this horse.

Grant Tuer trains Al Hussar from his yard in Birkby, North Yorkshire, and it's been a productive season — 23 winners sent out so far, which tells you this is a stable operating with confidence. Al Hussar's most recent win came at Chester in September 2025, a track that rewards horses with specific qualities: it's tight, turning, and unforgiving of horses who don't settle or handle bends well. Winning there says something. Chester doesn't just hand out victories.

Recent form reads 5-1-2-13-3-3 going back from that Chester win, which shows a horse capable of competing at the sharp end — second, then a win — before a disappointing run in the middle and then back into the places again. The pattern is one of a horse that can be relied upon to show up on its day without being an absolute certainty. It raced just yesterday, so it's firmly in the middle of its season, and at four years old there may well be more wins to come before it finds its ceiling.

Al Hussar is a horse that rewards patience. Not a headline act, but the kind of solid, honest performer that any trainer is glad to have in the yard — and one that, with the right jockey on the right day at the right track, is more than capable of winning.