Aine's Lad

That changed at Thurles on 5 February 2026, when Aine's Lad finally got its head in front for the first time. It's worth pausing on that — a first career win at seven years old, after 15 attempts, is the kind of moment that means everything to a small yard. Matthew J Smith trains out of Kilmessan in County Meath, and his team has sent out 8 winners this season, so this is a stable that knows what it's doing. Getting Aine's Lad over the line was a satisfying addition to that tally.

The partnership with jockey James Smith is the constant thread running through this horse's career. James has been in the saddle for 12 of those 16 races, winning once together — that's 1 from 12, or roughly 1 in every 12 rides. That's a modest return, but the sheer number of shared runs suggests a real familiarity between horse and rider, and it was James who was there for the breakthrough at Thurles.

Recent form makes for genuinely encouraging reading. Strip away two poor runs earlier in the sequence and the last four races read 1-2-3, which for a horse with this kind of career history represents real momentum. Aine's Lad raced just one day ago and is clearly in a purple patch right now — busily active and running with the kind of consistency that suggests the Thurles win wasn't a fluke. Whether it can add to that tally in the near future is the interesting question, but right now this is a horse that looks like it has finally found its stride.