Atreides

The story of Atreides' recent form, however, is one of a horse that stumbled across an answer to its struggles. Trainer Neil Mulholland introduced a visor—a device that narrows a horse's vision to help it focus—and the results were immediate. In the space of a week in December 2025, Atreides won at Plumpton, then returned to win again at Fontwell Park just seven days later, followed by a top-three finish at Wincanton. That three-race sequence represented the kind of run most horses at this level dream of. Yet since that purple patch, Atreides has not won in its last six races, though it has continued to finish in the top three twice more, suggesting the visor's initial spark has dimmed but not vanished entirely. Its most recent outing was just a day ago, finishing third.

Mulholland's yard at Limpley Stoke has been prolific this season with 60 winners, but Atreides remains a fringe player in that story. It is ridden most regularly by Conor O'Farrell—they have raced together eight times without a win—yet the trainer clearly sees value in freshening the horse up and bringing it back for spring racing rather than campaigning it hard through winter. For a horse that has earned just enough to stay in training but not enough to turn heads, that patience may be exactly what Atreides needs.