Diego El Queso

His most recent win came at Leopardstown on 15 April, a victory now four months in the past—a considerable gap that suggests he has been struggling to find the winning post more recently. His last six races tell the story: a second-place finish, then a win, a third place, an eighth, and just yesterday a fourth, showing the kind of inconsistency that keeps him from being a reliable proposition. Ridden most often by Colin Keane, the pair have struck up a decent partnership with a 17% win rate together, though that is only over six races and hardly a substantial sample.

Trained at Dunsany by G M Lyons, a yard that has sent out 43 winners already this season, Diego El Queso sits comfortably in a strong operation. His first win came at Dundalk last October, and there is no shame in his career earnings or record—he is the kind of honest, mid-tier racehorse you would recognize if you went racing regularly, capable of winning again but hardly a certainty. Right now, at four years old and with a recent dip in form, he is more interesting to those who know the tracks and the trainer than to the casual observer.