Dawn Rising

The highlight reel includes a Class 2 victory at Ascot in June 2023, one of the top races in Britain, where Ryan Moore told ITV Racing afterwards that O'Brien had him "beautifully prepared" and that he was never truly asked for everything — he just kept finding more. That kind of performance, at that kind of track, on one of the biggest days of the British flat season, tells you this is a horse with real quality when things click. His most recent win came at The Curragh in November 2024, where jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle described him gliding onto the bridle halfway through the race and simply cruising past his rivals in the straight. Horses that win like that — without being asked a serious question — tend to leave you wanting more.

The problem is that the last six races have produced nothing better than a second place. He has not won in 19 months, and regular partner Declan McDonogh has yet to find the winning formula in six attempts together. O'Brien's yard is in excellent shape this season — 160 winners and counting — which makes Dawn Rising something of an outlier. To his credit, O'Brien is not hiding from it. Speaking earlier this month, he said he thinks it usually takes the horse a few runs to find his rhythm and that Ascot could be where he bounces back. That is either the trainer managing expectations carefully, or a genuine belief that the old magic is still in there.

Given that he won a Class 2 race at Ascot before, the hint that he could return there and rediscover his form is not wishful thinking — it is based on something real. Whether a nine-year-old horse, on a six-race losing run, can recapture a performance that impressed Ryan Moore is the question. But with a trainer sending out winners at that rate and a horse who has shown he can go to a top track and excel, Dawn Rising is worth keeping an eye on.