Hurst Hill

That sole victory came at Newton Abbot on 4th July 2025, and looking at the recent run of form, it was far from a fluke. In the six races leading up to now, Hurst Hill has finished 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 4th, 2nd, and 6th — reading those back to front, that is a horse that has been knocking on the door for months before finally kicking it open. Five placings in six races is the kind of consistency that suggests a horse finding its feet rather than one running out of ideas.

The partnership with jockey Daniel Sansom has been a long road together — 16 races, 1 win, and that 6% win rate tells you results have been hard to come by. But longevity in a partnership like that usually means trust, and it was Sansom in the saddle when the breakthrough finally came at Newton Abbot. That counts for something.

Trainer Seamus Mullins operates out of Wilsford-Cum-Lake in Wiltshire and has sent out 10 winners already this season, so the yard is in decent form. Hurst Hill does most of its racing at Class 5 level — the entry-level tier of British racing — winning 1 from 12 races at that grade, or about 1 in every 12. That is a modest return, but Class 5 is a competitive world of its own, full of horses chasing that same elusive win. The fact that Hurst Hill raced just one day ago and remains active suggests the yard — sorry, the team — believe there is more to come. Given how close this horse has been running lately, they might not be wrong.