Brains

Where Brains really shows its quality is on slow, muddy ground. On those testing days when others are slipping and struggling, this horse has won 2 of 6 races — a 33% win rate that is nearly three times better than its overall record. The preference is clear: get the rain falling and Brains becomes a different proposition entirely. The horse also has a distance sweet spot at around a mile and a furlong to a mile and two furlongs, where it has picked up 7 of its 8 career wins from 30 races — a 23% win rate that represents genuine strength at that trip.

There is also a neat bit of form at Kempton Park, where Brains has won 2 from 6 races. It is the kind of specialist course record that punters remember and trainers exploit. The last win came at Leopardstown on 30 March 2025, now 17 months ago, so the horse is well overdue. Under trainer R Donohoe and most recently ridden by Patrick McGettigan — though that partnership has yet to trouble the judge — Brains remains an active horse that clearly retains some appetite for racing. A return to muddy ground at the right distance could yet spark another winning run.