I'm not familiar with Gallop Racer. Starters Orders is a hardcore management/strategy sim. Like Football Manager, but much harder to master. Very immersive if played to its full potential, but needs many hours of input to get to that stage. Knowledge of UK racing an advantage, but it does mirror real life horse racing so using Google can help in learning how to play. Ideally you need the help of an experienced player to get started, because the early game is particularly hard. Addictive once you get established.

So basically I'm gonna be ripping my hair out for several hours at the min without a mentor? Good to know lol

Getting you a mentor is not an issue. More to the point is taking on such a steep learning curve, and the commitment of the time it takes to even start to make heads or tails of the game if you are new to horse racing. The management/strategy aspect though is riveting. Many SO players have been with the series for a long time. This is not a purchase for casual game players, and if you intend to buy I suggest you check out the videos on YouTube and the technical issues raised on this forum.

The only game that comes to close to this is StableMasters. Highly recommend SO7. I love the breeding aspect of the game.