Better Times Ahead

The partnership with jockey Mark Walsh is worth noting. Across 13 races together they have won 3 times — that is nearly 1 in every 4 rides, a meaningfully better return than the horse's overall career average. When Walsh is in the saddle, something clicks. Whether that is riding style, experience, or simply that Walsh tends to get the call when conditions suit, the numbers tell a clear story.

Robert Tyner trains out of Kinsale in County Cork, and his yard is in good nick right now — 15 winners on the board this season. That is the kind of form that tells you horses are arriving at the track ready to run, and Better Times Ahead is part of that momentum. The horse's last win came at Fairyhouse on 30 November 2025, around four months ago, which means it has had two runs since without getting back to the winner's enclosure. The back-to-back sevenths in those most recent outings suggest it has not quite recaptured that November peak just yet.

The career began at Naas in March 2022, which means Better Times Ahead has been around long enough to know the job. A nine-year-old with 23 races under its belt is not a work in progress — it is an experienced, battle-hardened competitor that knows how to win. The recent slight dip in form is not a crisis; it is a horse that ran well earlier in this sequence and has had a couple of tougher days since. With Tyner's yard firing and Walsh regularly in the plate, the signs point to more big days ahead rather than fewer.