Jerry From Kerry

The first win came at Ballinrobe in September 2024, but the more significant one arrived just this week at Punchestown, one of Ireland's most celebrated tracks. Winning at Punchestown means beating decent horses in front of a crowd that knows its racing, and doing it as recently as yesterday means Jerry From Kerry is right in the middle of a purple patch. The recent form confirms it: that win is sitting at the top of the last six runs, a sequence that had looked patchy before things clicked.

The key to unlocking this horse appears to be the ground conditions. On soft or slightly wet ground, Jerry From Kerry has won 2 from 6 races — a win rate of 33%, or roughly 1 in every 3. That is a dramatically better record than the overall career figures suggest, and it tells you something important: when the conditions suit, this horse is a different proposition entirely. Trainers and punters who notice that tend to find themselves on the right side of a result.

Paul John Gilligan trains the horse out of Athenry in Co Galway — a yard that has sent out 5 winners already this season, so there is form behind the operation. The most regular jockey, Mr M J O'Neill, has yet to get off the mark in five rides together, which is one of those curious statistics that defies easy explanation. Sometimes a partnership just takes time to click — or the right race in the right conditions hasn't quite aligned. Given the Punchestown win this week, it will be interesting to see whether that changes in the near future.

Jerry From Kerry is not a flashy horse with a long list of big-race credentials. What he is, is a horse who knows how to win when the ground is soft and the moment is right — and with a victory as fresh as yesterday, the momentum is firmly with him.