Kevin's Pride

The form figures over the last six races — 2, 2, 1, 4, 5, 4 — tell an interesting story when you read them in order. Kevin's Pride won at Cork in October 2025, then followed up with two consecutive runner-up finishes, and has since been placing fourth and fifth in more recent outings. That dip after the win is worth watching. It doesn't suggest a horse in decline so much as one that has been competitive at a slightly higher level following its success — trainers often pitch horses into tougher races after a win, and finishing fourth or fifth in that company is no disgrace.

John C McConnell's yard at Stamullen in County Meath has been in fine form this season, sending out 36 winners — a number that suggests a confident, well-run operation rather than a small stable getting lucky. When a trainer is firing winners out at that rate, it tends to mean the horses are arriving at the track fit and ready, which bodes well for Kevin's Pride whenever it next lines up.

One stat that jumps off the page is the record on normal ground — 2 wins from 5 races at 40%, meaning it wins 2 in every 5 times conditions are right. For context, most horses at this level would be thrilled with half that. Kevin's Pride on a good surface is a different proposition to Kevin's Pride on anything else, and that's the kind of specific knowledge that matters when you're following a horse. The first career win came at Kilbeggan in August 2024, and the most recent at Cork fourteen months later — two different tracks, same ground conditions. Racing just once a day ago, this is a horse very much in the middle of its story.