A Year Older

Look at the last six races and you see a horse that has genuinely come alive. Two wins in that stretch, with a couple of placed efforts thrown in as well, suggests something clicked this year. Whether that is a trainer finding the right conditions, the right distance, or simply a horse maturing late, the results speak for themselves. Karl Thornton's small yard in Skerries, County Dublin has sent out four winners this season, and A Year Older accounts for half of them — no small contribution to a modest-sized operation.

The one curiosity worth flagging is the partnership with jockey Donagh Meyler. He has ridden A Year Older five times without a win between them, which is a notable blank given the horse clearly knows how to win when the stars align. Both victories have come with someone else in the saddle. That is not necessarily a damning verdict on either horse or rider — these things happen — but it is the kind of detail that makes you wonder whether a change of jockey has been quietly key to the recent upturn. The horse raced just yesterday and remains very much in action, so there will be more chances to test that theory before long.