Inthesmallhours

That sole win came at Dundalk on 18 December 2024, and it remains the defining moment of this horse's career so far. What's notable is where Inthesmallhours tends to show up best — over the longer distances of a mile and six furlongs to two miles, it has won 1 from 3 races, a win rate of 33%, or roughly one in every three outings at those trips. That's a meaningful number. It suggests this is a horse that genuinely needs time and space to get into its rhythm, and when given that, it becomes a different proposition.

Trained by A Oliver, whose yard has sent out 20 winners already this season — a solid return that speaks to a stable in decent form — Inthesmallhours has been kept busy and raced as recently as yesterday. The recent form string of 16-–-–-1-2-5 is worth unpicking: after that Dundalk win sandwiched between a second and a fifth, the horse has posted three blanks before that 16th-place finish most recently. That latest run is the one question mark hanging over this profile. A 16th is a long way back, and until we see how that run is explained, it introduces a note of uncertainty.

Still, a horse that wins roughly 1 in every 6 races overall, but 1 in every 3 at its preferred distance, is a horse with a clear profile — and knowing a horse's profile is half the battle. Watch for Inthesmallhours when the trip is right and the yard is firing. Those are the days when staying up until the small hours to follow its progress might just be worth it.