Blackjack Hills

Those two wins came in quick succession in the autumn of 2025. The first arrived at Gowran Park on 20 October, and then Blackjack Hills backed it up with another victory at Dundalk on 5 November. Two wins in the space of a fortnight is the kind of run that makes people sit up and take notice, suggesting the horse had found a level that suited and was in the form of its life at that point.

The distance sweet spot appears to be somewhere between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs — at that range, Blackjack Hills has won 1 from 3 races, a hit rate of 33%, which is comfortably better than its overall average. In racing terms, finding the trip that gets the best out of a horse is half the battle, and trainer Matthew J Smith, based at Kilmessan in County Meath, seems to have worked that out. Smith's yard has sent out 8 winners this season, which tells you this is a competent, active operation rather than a small stable sending horses out in hope.

What's interesting is how that recent form sequence reads: after finishing 11th and 14th in back-to-back races, Blackjack Hills reeled off consecutive wins before a 7th place and then a 2nd in the most recent run. That second place came just one day ago, meaning this horse is very much in active campaign mode right now — race-fit, placed last time out, and presumably being aimed at another win in the near future. For a horse that once looked like it might struggle to justify its place on the track, Blackjack Hills is making a very decent case for itself.