Brandt

His trainer Cian Collins, based at Navan in County Meath, has been candid about the bad luck that has followed this horse around. One day he fell when it might have been his race to take. Another day he got to the front too soon, found himself out there alone, and ran out of road. Collins put it plainly after Brandt's most recent win at Leopardstown in March 2025: he felt the horse should have two more wins to his name by now. That is a trainer saying, without quite saying it, that this is a better horse than his record suggests — and trainers do not often hand out that kind of excuse.

Collins also noted back in the early days that Brandt is a big horse who jumps well, the sort of build and style that suits a longer, more demanding race. His name came up in connection with the Ulster National at Downpatrick, a gruelling test that rewards stamina and jumping ability over raw speed. That he was even being considered for a race like that tells you something about how the yard views him — not as a horse to be placed in ordinary races for the sake of it, but as one with a specific kind of talent to be unlocked in the right conditions.

The current form, however, is hard to dress up. Six races without a win, recent finishes of 13th, 6th, 6th, and 7th, and no success at all from four attempts at the top level of competition available to him. His most regular partner, jockey Jordan Gainford, has ridden him eight times and won once together — roughly 1 in every 8 rides. The yard itself is in decent health, sending out 20 winners this season, so the ammunition is there. Brandt raced just yesterday, which means he is fit and still being campaigned actively. For a horse whose trainer believes he has been genuinely unlucky, that persistence says something. Whether the luck turns is another matter.