Hugo Palmer began training in his own right at Kremlin Cottage Stables in Newmarket, Suffolk in 2011 with a string of 11 cheaply-bought, syndicated horses. He saddled his first winner, Steady The Buffs, ridden by Adam Beschizza, in a two-year-old maiden auction stakes race at Brighton on May 9, 2011. Palmer broke into double figures for the season for the first time in 2013, but thereafter steadily increased his seasonal tally, peaking with 87 winners from 508 runners in 2018, at a strike rate of 17%.
Palmer enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2015, saddling Covert Love to Group 1 wins in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh and the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp and amassing over £1 million in prize money in a season for the first time. The following season, he saddled his first and, so far, only British Classic winner, Galileo Gold, in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. The Paco Boy colt was beaten in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, but resumed winning ways in the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
On August 8, 2021, Palmer added another Group 1 winner to his carry tally, Ebro River, ridden by Shane Foley, in the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. The following March, he was recruited by former England footballer to replace the previous incumbent, Tom Dascombe, at Manor House Stables, his training establishment in Malpas, Cheshire. From his new base, Palmer saddled a winner with his very first runner, Noman, in a mile-and-a-half handicap at Leicester in April 1, 2022 and, in so doing, reached the landmark of 500 career winners.
Since making the move from Newmarket, Palmer has continued to thrive, saddling a further 10 Pattern winners at home and abroad. Most notably, he sent out the Too Darn Hot colt Glacius to win the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Stakes at Saratoga, New York on August 8, 2026.
