Ballynaheer

The numbers that really stand out are the most recent ones. In the last six races, Ballynaheer has won three times — including back-to-back wins — and has only once finished outside the top five. For a horse competing at Class 5 level, which is the bread-and-butter, everyday end of British racing, that is the sort of form that makes trainers and jockeys look forward to getting it to the track. Dennis's yard has sent out seven winners this season, and Ballynaheer has been doing its fair share of the heavy lifting.

One pattern worth noting is how well this horse performs on normal ground — the kind of conditions you'd get on a firm but fair summer's day. All five of its career wins have come in those conditions, and it has won 5 of 16 races on normal ground, which works out to roughly 1 in every 3 — a genuinely impressive ratio at any level. When the ground is right, Ballynaheer is a different proposition.

Jonathan Burke is the jockey most closely associated with this horse, and between them they have won 2 of their 8 races together — roughly 1 in 4, which is a solid record and suggests a working partnership that suits both parties. The first career win came at Huntingdon in April 2024, and the most recent came at Market Rasen just eight weeks ago, so this is very much a horse in its prime window right now.

Ballynaheer raced just yesterday, which means it has been running with remarkable regularity. That tells you something about the horse's constitution — it is robust, willing, and clearly thriving. At seven years old, with its best recent form coming in the last few months, this is not a horse winding down. If anything, it looks like a horse that has finally hit its stride.