Andab

His first win came at the Curragh in May 2025, and even then jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle sensed something more than a routine debut victory. He noted that Andab took a while to pull up after the race — a small detail, but one that experienced riders often take as a sign that a horse genuinely wants to run. The pair followed that up with a win at Dundalk in October, where McMonagle described him as having "plenty of class" after he quickened up sharply to win under the floodlights, despite the unusual environment being a new experience for the horse.

Since then, Andab has been operating at a higher level — Group 2 company in Deauville, and races in Qatar and Newcastle that O'Brien describes as unlucky not to have produced wins. Those are significant stages for a three-year-old to be performing on, and the trainer clearly believes the best is still to come. His most recent form reading — 7-3-2-3-1 — shows a horse working its way back toward the front after a seventh-place finish, rather than one that has fallen away.

The partnership with McMonagle is worth noting separately. Together they have won 2 from 6 races, a win rate of 33% — 1 in every 3 — which is a strong return and suggests a genuine understanding between horse and rider. O'Brien's yard has sent out 171 winners this season alone, so the operation Andab belongs to is not short of options, yet this horse remains in the trainer's thinking for a Listed race at the Curragh next month. That is a meaningful signal. With a race just yesterday keeping him sharp and a big target coming into focus, Andab looks like a horse whose story is still being written.