Mr Macphisto

The most interesting part of Mr Macphisto's form lies in the distances that suit him. Over the longer trips — 1m6f to 2 miles — he is a different horse entirely, with 2 wins from just 4 races, a win rate of 50 per cent. That is genuinely useful form. He won his first race at Kilbeggan in July 2022, then struck again at Navan just over a year later. Given that he has now gone 37 months without a win, that second victory feels like his peak, but those long-distance wins suggest he knows how to get the job done when conditions and distance align.

Ricky Doyle has partnered him most often, and when they work together the numbers improve markedly: 2 wins from 9 races, a 22 per cent win rate that is well above the horse's overall average. His recent form shows two runs without a place, then a third-place finish followed by a seventh, so he is capable of mixing competitive efforts with days that do not work out. For a ten-year-old still being campaigned, still racing regularly, that is fair enough. Mr Macphisto is the kind of horse who may never win again, but as long as Griffin's team keeps running him in the right spots — the longer races, ideally with Doyle up — he will give himself chances.