Hello Neighbour

The turning point came at Navan in late September 2024, where Hello Neighbour broke his duck. The trainer, Gavin Cromwell, has been methodical about bringing him along—the word from the yard is that this is a horse who has answered every call. After that first win, the horse has kept winning, and winning well. Most recently, he landed a race at Punchestown in May, five months ago now, which suggests he remains competitive at a serious level.

Where Hello Neighbour really stands out is in mud. On wet ground, he has won two of three races—a 67 per cent win rate that is simply dominant. He is also a course specialist at Leopardstown, where he has won two of four starts. The consistency shows in his recent form too: in his last six races, he has finished in the frame four times, including that win five months back, with only one blank (a tenth place) breaking the pattern.

Keith Donoghue has been his regular pilot, and together they have won three of nine races—a 33 per cent return that speaks to a real working relationship. Cromwell, who trains from Navan and has sent out ninety-six winners this season alone, clearly has plans for him. The trainer has been candid about the challenge: Hello Neighbour is a top-class winner dropped back into handicap company, which means carrying weight that may not suit him. But there is genuine belief in the yard that he can still progress. The comparison to Espoir D'Allen—a horse who went on to win the Champion Hurdle as a five-year-old—suggests Cromwell thinks the best may be yet to come.