Dark Note

The most striking thing about Dark Note is what happens when the ground gets wet. On soft or muddy ground, it has won 3 of just 5 races — a 60% win rate that is genuinely exceptional. Most horses are not that selective, or that decisive when their conditions arrive. When the forecast is wet and Dark Note is in the field, it becomes a very different proposition.

The partnership with jockey Cian Quirke is worth noting too. They have raced together 18 times — a serious working relationship by any measure — and produced 2 wins from those 18 races. That is roughly 1 in every 9 rides together, which sits just above the horse's overall average and suggests Quirke has a decent understanding of how to get the best from it.

Slattery's yard has had a strong season with 60 winners sent out, so Dark Note is operating within a well-run, productive operation. The horse last won at Tipperary in July 2025 — nearly a year ago now — and has gone six races without adding to that tally since. But recent form is actually encouraging: finishes of third, fourth, fourth, and fifth in several of those runs suggest a horse still competing honestly rather than one that has lost its spark. It raced just yesterday, which tells you this is an active and fit horse being kept busy.

At distances between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, it has won 1 from 6 races in that range — modest, but the wet-ground factor could easily transform those numbers when the right conditions arrive. Dark Note is the kind of horse a patient punter learns to watch rather than chase.