Ira Hayes

John McConnell's yard at Stamullen, Co Meath has had a productive season with 36 winners to date, but Ira Hayes is not one of those success stories recently. The horse last won at Tramore on 20 April, which now sits five months back in the past. Since then, the recent form has been a picture of frustration: a second-place finish is the only placing in the last six runs, with the others reading 4-5-6-7. That is the kind of sequence that tests a trainer's patience and an owner's commitment. The horse is still active and still racing, most recently just a day ago, which suggests the team has not given up.

Interestingly, Ira Hayes has been ridden most often by Alex Harvey, but that partnership has not yielded a single win across seven races together, despite the horse managing wins with other jockeys. Whether that is a matter of luck, the particular races those two have tackled together, or a question of how well they work as a pair is hard to say from the facts alone. What is clear is that Ira Hayes remains a working racehorse in an active yard — still turning up to race, still capable of hitting the places, and with three career wins to its name. For a horse now in its eighth year of life, that represents decent longevity, even if recent months have been leaner than the team would have hoped.