Apache Outlaw

His first career win came at Fairyhouse back in June 2022, and his most recent came at Dundalk on 18 December 2024 — though that is now 18 months ago, and his last 6 races have produced nothing better than a third. Recent form of 6-11-8-6-3-4 suggests a horse who is competitive without quite getting to the line first, and at six years old there is no great mystery to explain — he simply hasn't found his moment yet in this current run.

Normal ground suits him well. On standard conditions he has won 4 of 15 races, or just over 1 in 4 — a noticeably better record than on anything softer or faster, which is a useful pointer for anyone watching him closely. He is trained by Adrian McGuinness at Lusk in County Dublin, a yard that has sent out 39 winners already this season, so the operation clearly knows what it is doing. Adam Caffrey rides him most often, with 2 wins from 22 races together — about 1 in every 11 — though the horse's Dundalk record suggests the venue matters at least as much as the rider.

Apache Outlaw raced just yesterday, which means he is right in the thick of a busy campaign. He is not a horse built for the biggest occasions — his career earnings and level of competition place him firmly in the bread-and-butter tier of the sport. But at his favourite track, on a good surface, he has already shown four times that he knows exactly what to do. The question is simply when Dundalk comes around again.