Fitzella

Her career has not been without its rough edges, though. At the Cheveley Park, she hit the starting gates and never quite got into her stride, and trainer Hugo Palmer was candid afterwards that the incident cost her — she failed to handle the course's famous dip without ever finding her rhythm, and a potential Breeders' Cup conversation quickly became a conversation about next season instead. Then at Deauville she ran what Palmer described as a massive race, only to finish second to a rival so exceptional that he reckoned Fitzella would otherwise have won a Group 2 in devastatingly impressive fashion and been among the favourites for the 1,000 Guineas. The margins at the top of this sport are extraordinarily thin.

The Ascot win on 26 July 2025 showed exactly what she is capable of when things click. After finishing fourth at the Albany meeting — where jockey Oisin Murphy felt he had sat too close to the pace — the team came back with a clear plan: hold her up, race patiently, use her finish. She promptly jumped out of the stalls so sharply that Murphy had to abandon the plan entirely and adapt on the spot. He managed it beautifully, winning without going hard, which perhaps tells you as much about her talent as the result itself.

Palmer, whose yard at Malpas in Cheshire has sent out 66 winners this season alone, has spoken openly about the uncertainty surrounding her best distance as a three-year-old — though the 1,000 Guineas is clearly on the agenda. She raced just yesterday, so whatever comes next is imminent. For a horse who has already won at the top level and gone toe-to-toe with one of the season's best juveniles, the story feels very much like it is just getting started.