Ira Hayes

That win came at Tramore seven weeks ago, on 20 April 2026, which is the latest and best chapter in a career that got going properly at Wexford back in October 2024. Tramore is a tight, turning track on the south coast of Ireland — a course that suits horses who are sharp and adaptable rather than just big and powerful. Winning there suggests Ira Hayes has more to it than raw ability.

The trainer is John C McConnell, working out of Stamullen in County Meath, and his yard has sent out 38 winners already this season — a serious number that marks this out as an operation in good form. When a busy, winning yard has a horse running as well as Ira Hayes is right now, that context matters.

One wrinkle worth noting: the most regular jockey, Alex Harvey, has partnered the horse in 7 of its 15 races without managing a single win together — 0 from 7. That's not necessarily a crisis, but it's a curious pattern when the horse clearly has the ability to win. All three career victories have come with someone else in the saddle, which is the kind of detail that makes you look twice at the racecard.

Ira Hayes raced just yesterday and is currently active, so there may be more to come from this purple patch very soon. With a win rate of 3 from 15 across its career but a much stronger recent sequence, this looks like a horse that has finally found its level — and possibly its confidence. At seven years old, this may well be the peak of what it has to offer, and it's making the most of it.