Kingdom Calling

That one career victory came at Listowel on 28 September 2024, and it stands alone. Twenty-two months have passed since then, and the record since reads 0 from 6. The most recent form figures — 4th, 10th, 6th, 10th, then a run that didn't result in a finish, then 7th — paint a picture of a horse that has drifted away from its best rather than building toward something. The numbers are not encouraging, but Kingdom Calling raced just yesterday, which tells you the team still believes there is a race to be won somewhere.

Regular rider G B Noonan has been in the saddle for six of those races and is yet to find the winner's spot together, an 0 from 6 partnership that mirrors the horse's broader struggles since that Listowel breakthrough. Trainer Eoin Christopher McCarthy, based in Athea, County Limerick, has had 15 winners from his yard this season — so this is a trainer who clearly knows how to get horses winning. Kingdom Calling, for now, just hasn't been one of them.

What makes this horse worth watching is the open question of whether that Listowel win was a glimpse of what it can do, or simply a good day that hasn't been repeated. Listowel is a track with its own particular character, and some horses simply find one place that suits them. If McCarthy can get Kingdom Calling back to somewhere that clicks — ideally before another 22 months slip by — there may yet be another moment in the spotlight. Until then, this is a horse running on hope as much as form.