Pretty Spirited

The partnership with jockey Alec Voikhansky has been significantly better than the numbers might suggest at first glance. Together they've won 2 of 8 races (25%), a win rate far above Pretty Spirited's typical performance. That's the kind of working relationship worth maintaining, the sort of thing that can turn a horse's season around. Trainer Lawrence Mullaney, based at Newark in Nottinghamshire, has had a quiet season overall — only two winners sent out so far — but appears to understand what Pretty Spirited needs: the horse performs noticeably better over the middle distances, winning 2 of 10 races between 1m1f and 1m2f, compared to its overall record.

The concern is the length of the drought. Pretty Spirited last won at Lingfield Park on 26 August 2025, more than a year ago now, and has failed to win in its last six races. The recent form reads 10-4-2-12-3-3, which shows the occasional place but mostly mid-field finishes that suggest the horse is losing touch with winning form. It raced just a day ago, so the yard is still actively looking for that third career win. At this point, Pretty Spirited remains a horse for smaller-field Class 6 races, preferably over its favoured distances with Voikhansky in the saddle — but it will need to rediscover something it appears to have mislaid over the past thirteen months.