Carla Ridge

Her first career win came at Naas in September 2024, but it was what followed that really caught the eye. She went on to win at The Curragh in October 2024 — one of Ireland's most prestigious tracks and the spiritual home of Irish flat racing. Landing a win there at any stage of a career means something; doing it as a three-year-old puts you in decent company. Between and around those victories, she has finished placed five times, which tells you she is competitive without always finding the winner's enclosure.

Her recent form reads 1-19-3-2-17-3 going back through her last six races, and honestly that is a mixed picture. The 19th and 17th place finishes are hard to explain away — those are days when something clearly wasn't right, whether the race ran against her or she simply wasn't at her best. But sandwiched around those runs are two placed finishes and, most importantly, that Curragh win in October. Horses have off days, and what matters is what she does when she shows up.

Chris Hayes has been aboard for seven of her nine races and the pair have clicked — winning 2 of those 7 together works out to roughly 1 in every 3.5 rides, which is a strong partnership by any measure. Hayes clearly knows how to get the best from her, and that continuity of jockey is often underrated.

She is now trained by Eddie and Patrick Harty at their yard in Curragh, Co Kildare — a team that has sent out 17 winners already this season, so they are in decent form. The key question now is the 176-day absence. Five and a half months off the track is a significant gap, and horses returning from that kind of break can take a run or two to find their best. But with a proven ability to win at a track as competitive as The Curragh, and an experienced jockey who knows her well, Carla Ridge is well worth watching when she eventually returns.