Battle Of Benburb

The bare record tells a modest story. One win from 23 races — that is roughly 1 in every 23 trips to the track, or a win rate of just 4% — and three placed finishes to go with it. For context, a horse that wins 1 in every 5 races is considered a decent performer. Battle Of Benburb has never come close to that kind of consistency. The win itself came at Wexford in August 2022, and that remains the only time this horse has beaten its rivals home in any of its 23 outings.

What makes the profile stranger is that the yard itself is in fine form. McConnell's team has sent out 44 winners this season, which tells you there is genuine ability in Stamullen — horses leaving that yard and winning races regularly. Battle Of Benburb, to put it gently, has not been one of the yard's success stories. Jockey Kieren Buckley, who has ridden the horse more than anyone else, has managed 1 win from their 10 races together — exactly 1 in 10 — which at least shows some loyalty to a partnership that has rarely delivered results.

The horse is now six years old, which is not ancient, but the 31-month absence casts a shadow over any comeback. Horses can return from long breaks in excellent shape, or they can come back as a different animal entirely. The recent form before the layoff — finishing sixth, fifth, and ninth in three of the last six runs, with the other three races blank — was not exactly building momentum. That final run before disappearing from the track came well over two years ago, and nothing about it suggested a horse on the verge of a breakthrough.

McConnell is clearly a trainer who knows what he is doing, and a yard producing 44 winners in a season does not do so by accident. Whether Battle Of Benburb can give him one more reason to celebrate — and finally add a second win to a career that has been largely one of near-misses — is the question worth watching if this horse ever reappears.