Hillwalk

Neil Mulholland trains Hillwalk out of his yard at Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, and it is a stable in fine fettle right now — 60 winners sent out this season, which is the kind of output that tells you horses are leaving that yard in good shape. Mulholland has spoken about Hillwalk with genuine warmth, noting that the horse showed real ability on its first run before a bad day at Fontwell knocked its confidence. It took some time to shake off, but the recent placed efforts suggest it has come out the other side. Mulholland also believes the horse knows how to gallop and jump, and the plan is to go straight over hurdles — skipping the earlier introductory stages that many young horses need.

What makes Hillwalk interesting is the gap between what the record shows and what it hints at. Zero wins from six races is a straightforward fact, but a horse that just ran second yesterday, trained by a yard firing on all cylinders, and described by its trainer as having genuine ability, is not a horse to write off. It is a horse waiting for the right race.