Eclairage

That kind of course dominance is rarer than it sounds. Dundalk is an all-weather track, and something about it clearly suits Eclairage down to the ground. Four wins from 8 races there means the horse wins exactly half the time it shows up — a figure that would make it one of the most reliable horses in training if it could replicate that form anywhere else. It can't, at least not yet, but punters and racing fans with a long memory will know to take notice whenever Dundalk appears on the schedule.

On normal ground conditions, the record is similarly eye-catching: 4 wins from 8 races, again that 50% conversion. The horse just seems to thrive when conditions are straightforward rather than testing.

Shane Foley, one of Ireland's most experienced jockeys, has been in the saddle for 6 of those 20 races and picked up 1 win together — a partnership that wins roughly 1 in every 6 times, which is solid without being spectacular. Murphy's yard has been in decent nick this season, sending out 14 winners, so the infrastructure is clearly there to keep a horse like this ticking over.

The caveat worth noting is that Eclairage hasn't won in its last 6 races, with recent form reading 2-15-7-16-2-4 — a couple of near-misses mixed in with some quieter efforts. The last win came at Dundalk on 12 July 2025, and with the horse having raced just yesterday and still very much in active training, another trip to that favourite track could easily bring the best back out of it. When a horse has found somewhere it genuinely thrives, the yard tend to keep going back. Expect Murphy to do exactly that.