Elegant Erin

She opened her account at Beverley back in May 2022 and has clearly never forgotten how to get around the place. Her most recent win there — a Class 2 race in September 2025, one of the better races in British racing — was a statement. This is not a horse making up the numbers at the top end; she went there and beat good horses. That victory came seven months ago and she was back racing just yesterday, so this is very much an active story.

What is also unusual about Elegant Erin is that the ground doesn't seem to bother her much either way. Some horses want the ground soft and will sulk on a dry summer track; others are the opposite. Elegant Erin has won 3 from 6 on fast, dry ground — that's 50% — and 3 from 7 on wet or muddy ground, which is 43%. Both numbers are remarkable. It suggests a horse that simply turns up ready to race, whatever the weather has been doing.

She is trained by Paul Midgley at his yard in Westow, North Yorkshire, and has most often been partnered by jockey David Nolan, who has ridden her to 2 wins from their 13 races together. Midgley's yard has sent out 37 winners this season alone, so Elegant Erin is part of a genuinely thriving operation. At nine years old, she is not a young horse — most careers at this level start to wind down around this age — but her recent form of two wins from her last six races, including that Class 2 success, suggests she has absolutely no interest in slowing down. Some horses peak early and fade. Elegant Erin, it seems, just keeps finding her way back to the winner's enclosure.