Parish Star

Both wins have come in early 2026, first at Newcastle on 27 January and then at Southwell on 2 February — two victories in the space of a week, which speaks to a horse that arrived at that moment in real form. The Southwell win was four months ago, so the question now is whether Parish Star can rediscover that same sharpness, especially having raced just yesterday and still being in active training.

The class level is worth understanding. Parish Star competes mainly at Class 5, which sits near the lower end of the racing ladder — these are competitive enough races, but they are not the big occasions. At that level, though, the record becomes genuinely interesting: 2 wins from 9 races, a win rate of 22%, or better than 1 in every 4 starts. That is a horse that performs when the conditions suit.

The trainer is Adam Nicol, based at Seahouses on the Northumberland coast — not one of the large southern yards with hundreds of horses, but a tight operation that has still sent out 26 winners this season, which is a solid return. The regular jockey partnership, though, tells a curious story. Lorcan Murtagh has been in the saddle for 8 of Parish Star's 20 races without a single win together — 0 from 8. Notably, both career victories have come without him. That is not necessarily anybody's fault, but it is the kind of stat a keen observer would quietly file away.

Parish Star is no superstar, but there is a real horse here — one that found form suddenly in the winter, handles its favoured level well, and is clearly still being aimed at races with purpose. Whether that February peak can be matched again is the interesting question.