King Gris

What makes King Gris worth following is the trajectory. The early part of that recent six-race sequence — finishing 8th, 5th, and 9th — looked like a horse that hadn't quite figured things out. Then something clicked. Back-to-back wins in December 2024, first at Ayr and then at Hexham, suggest a horse that has found its confidence and a style of racing that suits it. Whether that momentum has carried into its most recent run, which came just yesterday, remains to be seen.

Behind the horse is one of the most powerful operations in jump racing. Gordon Elliott, training out of Longwood in County Meath, has sent out 209 winners already this season — a number that puts his yard among the elite in the sport. When a trainer of that calibre bothers to keep running a horse at this level, it usually means they see something worth developing. King Gris competes mostly in Class 4 races, which sit in the mid-range of the British racing ladder, and has won 1 from 4 at that level — roughly 1 in every 4 tries, or 25%. That is a solid enough return, and if the horse continues to improve, Elliott has the platform to aim it somewhere more ambitious.

For now, King Gris is an active, improving 6-year-old with a genuine winning habit and one of racing's sharpest trainers in its corner. Worth keeping an eye on.