Cavalry Master

The partnership with jockey Sean O'Keeffe has been the most consistent thread through his recent career — eight races together without a win, which is a tough run by any measure. Peter Maher's yard has had a quiet season too, sending out just one winner, so this is not a horse operating with the wind at his back. His last six outings read 5th, 8th, 8th, and then three races where he failed to finish, which makes the form hard to read at the moment.

What saves this profile from being purely a tale of frustration is the horse himself. Rider Mike O'Connor was openly warm about him after a run at Killarney, describing him as a "great servant" and noting that he had previously won there — a course-and-distance winner who genuinely seemed to enjoy the place. That detail matters. Some horses just click with a particular track, and the suggestion that Cavalry Master is one of them hints at a horse with more personality than the bare numbers suggest. O'Connor also pointed to a gritty moment at Wexford, where Cavalry Master got a good jump at the last fence and put his head down and battled — not the behaviour of a horse simply going through the motions. Trainer Maher, for his part, noted after a return from a lengthy absence that the horse had badly needed the run and would come on plenty for it — the kind of patient, long-game thinking that often surrounds horses who give their best in their own time.

At 12, Cavalry Master is deep into the veteran stage. The wins may not come. But he raced yesterday, he's still fighting, and people who have sat on his back seem genuinely fond of him. That counts for something.