Classy Al

Goldie, whose yard has fired out 88 winners this season alone, has known Classy Al longer than most trainers know their horses — he also trained the horse's mother and grandmother. That kind of family familiarity hasn't always made life easy. Goldie has spoken openly about the horse's quirky streak, including depositing jockey Paul Mulrennan on the ground before a race rather than during it, which is its own kind of achievement. Despite the antics, Goldie has always maintained there's a genuine engine underneath, and the record backs that up.

Mulrennan is very much the man in the saddle when it matters. The pair have raced together 22 times, producing 5 wins — a win rate of 23%, or roughly 1 in every 4 and a half rides. For context, Classy Al wins just 1 in 7 races overall. That gap is significant, and it suggests a partnership built on understanding rather than luck.

The horse goes best on normal ground — 6 wins from 21 races on standard conditions, winning at a rate of 29%, or nearly 1 in 3. When the ground dries out or cuts up, those numbers fall away sharply. He's typically running at Class 5 level, the bread-and-butter tier of British racing, where he's won 3 from 16.

Recent form has been lean — four runs finishing in the top four positions, but nothing in the winner's enclosure since that Hamilton victory in July 2025. He raced just yesterday, so the team are clearly keeping him busy. Goldie once floated the idea of trying the all-weather surface to freshen things up, and with the summer turf season approaching and Hamilton on the horizon, don't rule out this old familiar act producing one more moment worth watching.