Clonmeen

The partnership with jockey Simon Torrens is worth noting. Together they've raced 17 times and won 3 of them — that's roughly 1 in every 6 races, which is a solid return and suggests the two have developed a real understanding. When Torrens is in the saddle, things tend to go right more often than not.

What makes the current chapter of Clonmeen's story genuinely interesting is the timing. A win at Fairyhouse just four weeks ago — on 6 April 2026 — suggests this horse is in the form of its life. That victory came nearly two and a half years after the first career win at Down Royal in November 2023, and the recent form figures back it up: a win followed by a fourth-place finish in the two runs before that last blank. For an 11-year-old, that is remarkable. Most horses at this stage of their career are winding down; Clonmeen appears to be doing the opposite.

The operation behind the horse is a small one. Trainer William P Murphy runs a yard out of Rathoe in County Carlow, and the stable has sent out just one winner so far this season — which happens to be this horse. That puts Clonmeen right at the centre of whatever is going well at the yard right now. Small yards often have a quiet season punctuated by moments that mean everything, and right now Clonmeen is that moment.

Having raced just one day ago, the horse is as active as it gets. Whether the team is looking to press on quickly or give it a breather, Clonmeen heads into whatever comes next on the back of a recent win, an in-form partnership with Torrens, and the kind of late-career momentum that makes it genuinely worth following.