Johnny Cakes

That one win came at Punchestown on 24 February 2025 — and it's worth noting that Punchestown is one of Ireland's most beloved tracks, a proper horse racing venue with a real atmosphere. Breaking through there means something, even if the clock is now ticking: it's been around 13 months since that day, and the winning feeling hasn't returned since.

Trained by P J Rothwell out of Tinahely in County Wicklow, Johnny Cakes is part of a yard that has sent out 35 winners this season — so this is a functioning, active operation that clearly knows how to get horses to win races. That context matters. When a yard is firing on all cylinders, you'd hope some of that form rubs off on a horse still searching for its second victory.

The most regular partnership in the saddle is with Tiernan Power Roche, who has ridden Johnny Cakes in 6 races and landed that 1 win together — a win rate of roughly 1 in 6, or about 17%. That's actually a decent return for a horse that has otherwise found winning elusive, and suggests the combination works when things fall right.

Recent form reads 5-5-3-4-13-5 from the last six runs, most recent first. The 13 stands out as a bad day at the office, but the surrounding results show a horse that's finishing in the top five consistently enough to suggest it hasn't fallen apart. Last raced just 25 days ago, Johnny Cakes is clearly an active, race-fit horse. At seven, it's not young, but it's not done either — and with a trainer in good form and a jockey who has already found the winning formula once, another day like Punchestown last February isn't out of the question.