Hale Bopp

The most interesting chapter of Hale Bopp's story is written at Dundalk, Ireland's all-weather track. Two of its three career wins have come there, from 26 races at the course. That's a win rate of about 1 in 13 at Dundalk specifically, which sounds modest until you realise the overall career figure is 1 in 19. Something about that track clearly suits this horse — the surface, the tight turns, the way races are run there — and trainers and punters who've followed Hale Bopp long enough will know to prick their ears whenever it lines up at Dundalk. The most recent of those wins came there in September 2023, though that's now 33 months ago, which puts things in perspective.

The current form is harder to spin positively. Six races without a win, and the last six results read as a dash, a third, a seventh, a sixth, a sixth, and a twelfth — that dash meaning it didn't finish. A third place in there shows it can still get competitive, but the overall trend is of a horse that is finding things tougher than it once did. At eight years old, that's not unusual.

Jockey Robbie Colgan has ridden Hale Bopp more than anyone else, partnering it 13 times for a single win together — roughly 1 win from every 13 rides. That's actually a touch better than the horse's overall ratio, suggesting the partnership has some logic to it. Trainer R Donohoe has kept the yard ticking along with 6 winners so far this season, so the operation is in decent health even if Hale Bopp itself hasn't been adding to the tally. The first career win came at Naas back in May 2022, which now feels like a while ago. This is a horse that has given its team plenty of racing, if not always the results they'd have hoped for.