Evans Secret

That long-awaited win came at Sligo on 13 July 2025, and the setting matters. Sligo is a tight, undulating track in the west of Ireland, very much a local track rather than a grand stage, and it suits horses who know their way around a bend. For Mark Michael McNiff's yard, based just down the road at Strandhill in Co. Sligo, it is practically home ground. McNiff has sent out 5 winners this season, and Evans Secret is one of them — a small yard punching with purpose.

The partnership with jockey Phillip Enright has been the most consistent thread running through this horse's career. They have raced together 8 times, winning once — that 12% win rate is actually well above Evans Secret's overall figure of 5%, which suggests something clicks between horse and rider. Enright clearly gets the best out of this horse, and the trainer knows it.

Over longer distances — anything above two miles — Evans Secret has won 1 from 13 races, a rate of around 1 in 13. That might not sound thrilling, but it tells you this is a horse built for stamina rather than speed. Strip it back to shorter trips and the record looks even thinner. The 2-mile-plus trips are where it belongs.

Recent form has shown signs of life. In the last six races, there has been a win, a second place, and a third — the kind of sequence that suggests a horse finding a level it is comfortable at. It raced just yesterday, which means the team are keeping it busy and confident. At seven years old, with a win finally on the board and a trainer who clearly believes in it, Evans Secret looks like a horse that has found its feet at exactly the right time.