Dawn Rising

The headline on Dawn Rising's CV is a win at Ascot in June 2023 — one of the top races in Britain, at one of the most famous venues in the sport. That alone puts this horse in a different category from most. Not every racehorse gets to win at a track like Ascot, and doing it at that level suggests that when the conditions are right, Dawn Rising can compete with very good horses. The first career win came at Listowel in September 2022, and the most recent at The Curragh in November 2024 — so there is a horse here that has shown it can win in Ireland and in Britain, at different stages of its career.

The current moment is trickier, though. Dawn Rising hasn't won any of its last six races, with recent finishes of 15th, 14th, 4th, 5th, and two further placed efforts. That run of form suggests a horse that has gone off the boil a little — though it raced just one day ago, so it is still very much an active presence. Jockey Declan McDonogh has partnered the horse six times without a win between them, which is the kind of statistic a trainer watches and quietly thinks about.

Joseph Patrick O'Brien is the man responsible for Dawn Rising's preparation, operating out of Owning Hill in County Kilkenny. O'Brien's yard has sent out 153 winners already this season — that is a formidable operation, one of the most productive in Irish racing. Having a horse like Dawn Rising in that environment, a horse with Ascot form and a history of placing consistently, makes sense. The question now is whether O'Brien can find the right spot to get this nine-year-old back to winning ways before the racing years run out.