Star Chorus

The Southwell story is the headline. Of Star Chorus's 5 career wins, 4 have come at that track, from just 7 races there. To put that in perspective: winning more than half your races at a particular course is unusual enough that most trainers would plan their whole season around it. Murphy clearly does. Southwell has an artificial surface that rides differently from a traditional turf track, and some horses simply love it. Star Chorus is one of them. Its first career win came there in January 2025, and its most recent win was there as recently as three months ago in February 2026.

Short distances suit it best. Over sprint trips under five furlongs, Star Chorus has won 3 from 6 races — that's half of every sprint race it has ever run, which is a remarkable conversion rate at any level. Add in that it thrives on normal ground conditions and you start to see a horse that performs to a very specific, very repeatable blueprint: get it to Southwell, on a normal surface, over a short trip, and it is a genuine player.

Jockey Rob Hornby brings out the best in it. The two have teamed up six times and won on three of those occasions — exactly half their shared rides have ended in victory. That kind of partnership matters. A jockey who understands how a horse wants to be ridden, and at what point in the race to ask for its effort, can be the difference between winning and finishing third.

Recent form reads 8-1-4-3-1-3 over the last six races, which means two wins mixed in with a few midfield finishes. It raced just yesterday, so it is clearly a horse being campaigned actively right now. Murphy's yard has hit 14 winners this season already, and with a specialist who knows exactly where and how it wants to win, Star Chorus looks likely to add to that tally before long.