Butch Cassidy

The key to unlocking Butch Cassidy is simple: get him on wet or muddy ground. On soft or heavy tracks, he has won 2 of his 4 races — a 50% win rate that is remarkable by any measure. Half the time the conditions suit him, he wins. That is not a coincidence; that is a horse who genuinely transforms when the ground gets testing. Trainers and owners track these things closely, and you can be sure his team at Knockeen are watching the weather forecasts with interest every time they consider running him.

He is trained by Henry De Bromhead, one of Ireland's most respected handlers, whose yard has sent out 106 winners this season alone. That is a stable firing on all cylinders, and having a horse like Butch Cassidy in a team that busy means he will be placed carefully — saved for the right conditions rather than thrown into races just to keep him ticking over. That approach shows in his record: quality over quantity.

His two wins came at Ballinrobe in April 2024 and then Punchestown in November 2024 — two very different tracks, which suggests he is adaptable as long as the ground is in his favour. Punchestown in particular is one of Ireland's most famous jumping venues, so winning there is no small thing. His recent form reads 5-3-4-3-5-1 going back from his latest race, meaning he has not recaptured that Punchestown win in the six runs since — but he has been placing consistently rather than finishing out the back. He is competitive. He just needs everything to fall right.

He has not raced for 66 days, which is a short break rather than a long absence, and suggests he comes back fresh rather than returning from a problem. When the rain arrives and De Bromhead decides the time is right, Butch Cassidy is absolutely worth watching.