Jacob's Ladder

The recent form makes even better reading. In his last six races, he has finished 3rd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd — so three wins and a second from six runs, which is the kind of consistency that gets people talking. His most recent victory came at Navan in February, where he stepped up into a Graded race — one of the top-tier events in Irish racing — and won it with what Gordon Elliott described as genuine guts. Elliott noted afterwards that he picked up strongly and galloped all the way to the line, which is exactly what you want to see from a horse taking on better quality opposition for the first time at that level.

Elliott trains out of Longwood in Co Meath, and the numbers his yard is putting up this season are frankly staggering — 209 winners already, which means Jacob's Ladder is far from the only good horse in the stable, yet he is clearly a horse the team believes in. Jack Kennedy, one of Ireland's best jockeys, has chosen to ride him in seven of his 14 races and has won three of those seven together — exactly that same 43% win rate, suggesting the two have developed a real understanding.

After the Navan win, Elliott was candid that the horse found the wet, heavy ground a struggle despite getting through it to win — a reassuring sign that there may be even better performances ahead when conditions suit. Talk of Fairyhouse or Aintree as next targets suggests the team are thinking big. Jacob's Ladder raced just yesterday and is still very much in action, which means whatever comes next, it is coming soon.