Chillhi

The five-year-old Churchill gelding Chillhi joined the all-conquering James Owen yard in Newmarket midway through 2025. Already a two-time winner on the Flat for previous connections, he is going to be a fun dual-purpose horse for Deva Racing.

A half-brother to the Gr.3-placed Hard Yards and also closely related to the Listed-placed chaser Bauhaus, Chillhi hails from a prolific family that can excel under both codes.

Starting out as a two-year-old, Chillhi was the four-length winner of a 7f Newcastle maiden on his second outing and returned to the same track to win a 1m nursery later the same year. In addition to those wins, he also ran in the Gr.3 Acomb Stakes behind subsequent Gr.1 2,000 Guineas winner Chaldean and was fifth in a valuable sales race at York.

Having reached a peak official rating of 89 as a juvenile, Chillhi was gelded ahead of his three-year-old campaign and stepped up to middle distances. He finished third in a 1m4½f handicap at Chester and was beaten less than two lengths in a Class 3 handicap over the same trip at Newcastle. More good efforts followed last season, notably when second in another 1m4½f handicap at Chester, although a third victory proved elusive.

Chillhi had already proven his stamina for 1m6f on the Flat, so a switch to hurdles was always on the cards. He finished an encouraging third on his debut in that sphere at Market Rasen in July of last year, with the winner going on to triumph at Listed level at Galway on her next start, and retains much untapped potential over jumps.

Having tumbled down the weights, he made his debut for James at Wolverhampton on the 10th of June, running creditably to be third in a 1m4f handicap. Although pulled up when well fancied for his next start over hurdles, another good run followed on the Flat when second in a 2m handicap on the July Course at Newmarket. He was also competitive when dropped to 1m3f at Carlisle in July, quickly advertising his adaptability and versatility since joining his new yard.

Now rated 98 over hurdles and just 59 on the Flat, it is unlikely to be long before James finds the key to Chillhi and has him back in the winner’s enclosure. The trainer is a dab hand at turning lowly rated horses into unstoppable winning machines, and the early signs are that he is going to find plenty of improvement in Chillhi.