Mr Rango

The eight-year-old is trained by James M Barcoe out of Gowran, Co. Kilkenny, a yard that has sent out 7 winners already this season. His most recent win came at Leopardstown in April 2024 — now 27 months ago — and he has not troubled the judge since across his last 6 races. His recent form reads 9-2-8-5-4-7, which suggests he is knocking around the fringes of competitiveness without quite finding that winning thread again. The second place is encouraging — it means the ability is still there — but the other results show a horse that is finding it hard to put everything together on the day.

Siobhan Rutledge has ridden him more than anyone else, partnering Mr Rango in 12 of his 41 races for that 1 win together, a win rate of around 1 in 12. That is lower than his overall ratio with other riders, which is a curious footnote rather than a damning verdict. He raced just yesterday, so he is clearly still very much in active training and the Barcoe team are persevering with him. Given his record at that mile-and-three to mile-and-four trip, you would not write him off entirely — but at 8 years old and 27 months without a win, he needs things to fall right. When they do, at the right distance, history says he is capable of surprising people.