Dawn Rising

The real insight into Dawn Rising's character came from its last victory, at The Curragh in November 2024, where it showed genuine enthusiasm. The rider, Dylan Browne McMonagle, described how the horse "came on the bridle from about halfway and he was loving it" — those are the moments that suggest a horse genuinely enjoys racing. It won that day at good pace, and its best racing has always come at longer distances. Of its 18 races at two miles or more, it has won four — a 22 percent win rate — compared to just four wins from 30 overall. It is a horse built for stamina, and it finds its best form when given room to settle and run.

The puzzle now is that it has gone without a win for six races, and trainer Joseph Patrick O'Brien acknowledged in early summer that the horse "needs to find his form again" but suggested "it usually takes him a few runs" before he bounces back. That wait continues. With only Declan McDonogh as its regular pilot (0 wins from 6 races together), there is a sense that Dawn Rising might just be treading water at present — a class horse looking to rediscover the spark that made Ascot and Curragh possible.