Starmount

Both of Starmount's wins have come at Wetherby, a sharp, fair track in West Yorkshire that rewards horses who travel well through a race. The first came on 6 December 2025, and the second followed on 22 January 2026 — two wins at the same track within seven weeks. That is not a coincidence; some horses simply find a course that suits them, and Wetherby appears to be Starmount's happy hunting ground. The most recent run, a fourth-place finish, is the only minor blip on an otherwise spotless record, and with the horse last seen racing 29 days ago, another run is likely not far away.

Behind the horse is Ben Pauling, a trainer based at Naunton in Gloucestershire who has quietly built one of the more productive yards in the country. Eighty-six winners in a single season is a serious number — that is the kind of output that puts you among the busiest and most efficient operations in the sport. Pauling has a reputation for placing his horses carefully, finding the right races at the right time, and Starmount's record so far suggests exactly that kind of patient, intelligent management. Two wins from four races does not happen by accident.

At six years old and with just four races under its belt, Starmount is still a horse in the early chapters of its story. The sample size is small, and it would be unwise to get carried away — but a 50% win rate, two wins at the same course, and a trainer firing on all cylinders is about as promising a combination as you will find. The question now is whether Pauling steps Starmount up in class to test it against better horses, or sticks to the formula that has worked so well. Either way, it is a horse worth keeping an eye on.