Chantez

Both of Chantez's victories have come at Leopardstown, and both came within just a few weeks of each other in the late summer of 2024 — the first on 22 August, the second on 14 September. Six of this horse's nine career races have been run at that same Dublin track, which means Chantez has won a third of its Leopardstown appearances. That is the kind of course record that makes trainers and jockeys sit up and take notice. Some horses simply click with a particular track — the shape of the turns, the ground, the way the race unfolds — and Leopardstown clearly suits this one.

Colin Keane has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Chantez in six of its nine races and winning both of them. That works out at 2 wins from 6 rides together, or roughly 1 in 3 — a strong partnership by any measure. When Keane and Chantez line up at Leopardstown, there is a track record and a jockey-horse combination that both point in the same direction.

The honest caveat is that the winning has dried up. Chantez has not hit the front in its last six races — a run stretching back almost two years to that September 2024 victory. The recent form figures of 4-5-8-3-6-7 show a horse that is still competitive enough to finish third, but has not quite managed to put it all together and win. G M Lyons is one of the most active yards in Ireland this season, having sent out 43 winners already, so the horse is not short of professional support. Chantez raced just yesterday and remains very much in active training. Whether another run at Leopardstown can reawaken the magic of that winning summer is the question worth watching.