Hitman

The ten-year-old's most recent win came at Aintree on 26 October 2025, in a Class 1 race — one of the top contests in Britain. It was his fourth attempt at the same race, and jockey Freddie Gingell described a horse who was travelling so well he almost arrived at the front too early. "He winged the last and was awesome," Gingell said afterwards, which is the kind of quote that tells you everything about what it feels like to sit on a horse finally getting its moment. Nicholls joked that the credit might belong to his new work-rider, Natalie Parker, who had been putting Hitman through his paces at home.

His only other win came at Haydock Park in November 2022, a Class 2 race where he was allowed to bowl along in front and simply outgalloped the field. That day, Nicholls spoke of a horse rated 160 — a mark that places him firmly in the top tier of his sport — and of plans for the prestigious King George Chase. The ambition was always there; the wins have been rarer.

Most of his races — 21 of his 25 — have come at Class 1 level, and he has won just 1 of those 21, a 5% return that sounds modest until you remember that Class 1 fields are packed with the very best horses in training. Regular partner Harry Cobden has ridden him eleven times for that single win. He raced just yesterday and remains active, which means there may yet be more chapters to write for a horse who has spent most of his career narrowly on the wrong side of the line — but who, when everything clicks, is genuinely brilliant.