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Flicker Of Hope

There are horses that tease you with flashes of ability, and then there are horses that deliver consistently enough to demand your attention. Flicker Of Hope sits firmly in the second category. The 7-year-old has won 6 races from 16 outings, placing in 8 of the others — meaning it has finished in the top positions in 14 of its 16 career races. That is a remarkable level of consistency. Win roughly 6 in every 16 races and you are finishing clear of the field more than a third of the time, which is the kind of record that makes trainers sleep well at night.Based on TrackLab's AI analysis
Quick Facts
Age
7 years old
Sex
Gelding
Colour
Brown
Father
Buck's Boum
Mother
Ojinska Dream
Trainer
Owner
Swords Bloodstock Limited
Rating
142

📊 Key Numbers

Career statistics for this horse
16
Career races
6
Wins
37.5%
Win rate
avg ~10%
50%
Place rate (top 3)
avg ~30%
63 days
Since last race

🔍 Full Analysis

TrackLab's AI-generated assessment based on career data and recent form
TrackLab's Detailed Breakdown
Auto-Generated

Mark Fahey trains this horse out of Cloneygath in County Kildare, and the yard has been in sharp form this season — 23 winners sent out, which tells you this is not a quiet backwater operation but a stable that knows how to have a horse ready on the day. Fahey got Flicker Of Hope to the winner's enclosure for the first time at Clonmel in May 2024, and the horse has been building on that ever since. The most recent win came at Naas in January 2026 — one of Ireland's more competitive tracks — which suggests this is not a horse that only beats weak fields in out-of-the-way races.

Aidan Kelly has the strongest relationship with this horse of any jockey, riding it 9 times and winning 3 of those — winning roughly 1 in every 3 rides together. That is a meaningful partnership, and when you see Kelly booked for the ride, it is worth sitting up and paying attention.

The recent form reads two wins from the last six races, and those wins are the two most recent results before a short break of around 63 days. Horses can come back from a break in better shape than they left, freshened up and ready to go again, or they can come back needing a run to find their rhythm. With Flicker Of Hope carrying that kind of in-form confidence into the break, the smart money says this horse returns ready to pick up where it left off.

Strengths & Risks AI Analysis

What the data says works for and against this horse
✓ What works in their favour
Strong overall win rate: wins 38% of races
⚠ What to watch out for
Struggles on RH Galloping tracks: 1 wins from 6 starts

🎯 Where This Horse Thrives

Performance broken down by ground, distance, class, and track type
🌧 Ground Conditions
Soft (muddy)
Heavy (very wet)
Ok
Good to yielding
Yielding to soft
Good to soft
Yielding
Good (firm-ish)
📏 Race Distance
Long Distance (2M+)
🏅 Competition Level
Class 1
🏟 Track Shape
Right-handed, tight turning
Loves
Left-handed, wide and galloping
Right-handed, tight
Right-handed, wide and galloping
Avoids

📅 Recent Runs

The last 10 races, most recent first
25 Jan
DNF
Naas
Long Distance (2m+) · Heavy · 8 runners
9 Jan
🏆 Won
Naas
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 6 runners
21 Nov
🏆 Won
Fairyhouse
Long Distance (2m+) · Heavy · 10 runners
27 Oct
3rd
Wexford
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Yielding · 10 runners
1 May
DNF
Punchestown
Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding · 28 runners
14 Mar
DNF
Cheltenham
Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft · 20 runners
1 Feb
3rd
Leopardstown
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 26 runners
7 Dec
🏆 Won
Navan
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 21 runners
4 Aug
🏆 Won
Galway
Long Distance (2m+) · Soft · 23 runners
29 Jul
8th
Galway
Long Distance (2m+) · Good · 23 runners

🏇 Jockey Partnerships

Every jockey who has ridden this horse, sorted by rides together
Aidan Kelly
33.3%
Win rate
3/9
Won / Rode
50%
Win rate
2/4
Won / Rode
100%
Win rate
1/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode

🏟 Track Record

Win rate at each course this horse has visited
CourseRacesResultsLast visitedWin rate
Wexford
Sharp
2 1 win, 1 third 27 Oct 50%
Galway
Tight
2 1 win, 1 other 4 Aug 50%
Naas
Galloping
2 1 win, 1 other 25 Jan 50%
Punchestown
Galloping
2 2 other 1 May 0%
Cork
Galloping
2 2 other 26 Nov 0%
Clonmel
Sharp
1 1 win 16 May 100%
Navan
Galloping
1 1 win 7 Dec 100%
Fairyhouse
Galloping
1 1 win 21 Nov 100%
Leopardstown
Galloping
1 1 third 1 Feb 0%
Limerick
Galloping
1 1 other 11 Apr 0%
Cheltenham
Galloping
1 1 other 14 Mar 0%