Invictus Machin

That Kilbeggan success was the second of its career, following a first win at Down Royal in November 2022. So across three years of racing, Invictus Machin has found the winner's enclosure twice — which tells you this is a horse operating at a competitive level where victories are hard-earned and not guaranteed to come in bunches. The six places alongside those wins show a horse that's rarely embarrassing itself, even when it can't quite get to the front.

The recent run of form tells a mixed story. Going back through the last six races, there are a couple of second-place finishes and a fourth in there — so the horse has been in and around the action at times — but those blanks and a ninth-place finish are a reminder that consistency has been elusive. Having not won in six races, the pressure to deliver is quietly building, even if placing regularly suggests the ability hasn't disappeared entirely.

Kieren Buckley has been the regular partner, riding Invictus Machin in 7 of its 23 races and winning once together — that's a win rate of about 1 in 7 (14%), which is actually a better return than the horse's overall career average. Buckley clearly knows this horse well, and that familiarity counts for something in tight finishes. The yard behind the horse is Gavin Cromwell's operation out of Navan in County Meath — a serious training base that has sent out 96 winners already this season, which shows this is a team that knows how to get horses fit and ready. Invictus Machin raced just yesterday, so it's clearly being kept busy, and the hope will be that the right opportunity arrives soon to end that near two-year wait for a win.