Lovely Hurling

The seven-year-old is trained by C A Murphy, based in Gorey, County Wexford — a yard that has sent out nine winners already this season, so this is not a small operation making up the numbers. Lovely Hurling has contributed two of those career victories, with the first coming at Wexford in May 2024 and the most recent at Naas in February 2025. Naas is a well-regarded track, and winning there carries more weight than a quiet Thursday at a smaller venue.

Across seven races in total, Lovely Hurling has won twice and finished in the places six times — a record that gives it a win rate of roughly 1 in every 3.5 races, or 29%, and a place rate that is frankly remarkable. To have only finished outside the top three once from seven races tells you this is a horse that rarely has a bad day. Mark Walsh, one of Ireland's most respected jockeys, has ridden Lovely Hurling in five of those races and won once together — a win rate of 1 in 5, or 20%, which is solid given how competitive these races tend to be.

The horse last raced 29 days ago, so it is fit, active, and clearly still being campaigned with ambition. The main question the form raises is whether a second win is closer than it appears. Four straight second-place finishes is the kind of sequence that tends to end one of two ways — either the horse finally gets its nose in front, or the team starts wondering whether the target needs adjusting. Given the quality of Murphy's yard and the consistency of the results, the smart money would probably say the next win is not far away.