Benavente

At eight years old, Benavente is in the later stages of his career. He won last at Dundalk on 27 March 2026 — six months ago — and his recent form has been patchy: a third-place finish, then an eighth, a tenth, and a ninth in his last six races. He is not the force he once was. What is more striking is his complete inability to win at the top level. He has never won a Class 1 or 2 race; in fact, he has never won even at Class 3, going 0 from 3 at that grade. This is a horse who operates comfortably at a lower tier and nowhere else.

The jockey J M Sheridan has ridden him 7 times, winning twice — a 29% win rate with the horse — which is significantly better than his overall record suggests a connection is worth. That partnership may be worth watching if Benavente gets another run at Dundalk, where his record speaks for itself. He runs best over longer distances between one mile six furlongs and two miles, where he has won 2 of 7 races. Right now, though, at eight years old and six months without a win, he looks like a horse entering the quiet end of his career, reliable at one track and nowhere else.