Munsif

The really striking number is what happens when Munsif is asked to run between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four furlongs. Over that trip, he has won 3 of his 5 races — 60% — which is the kind of stat that makes a jockey feel confident the moment the trip is confirmed. Finding the right distance for a horse can take time and patience, and Byrnes has clearly found Munsif's sweet spot. The yard has been in strong form this season, sending out 26 winners, so this is not a team that stumbles onto these things by accident.

His first career win came at Nottingham in April 2025, and his most recent came at Doncaster in September — a win that jockey Jim Crowley described with some relish at the time. Crowley noted that Munsif used his experience well that day, was perhaps idling in front and needed pushing out, but looked like a horse moving in the right direction. Crowley also flagged something worth keeping in mind: Munsif probably prefers the ground on the kinder side of fast, and that is the sort of preference that can define where and when a trainer chooses to run a horse through the autumn.

Since that Doncaster win, the last six races have brought no victories — a run of 2-8-3-3-5-3 — but placed efforts are threaded through that sequence, suggesting Munsif has not gone backward so much as found the competition stiffer. In late September, Byrnes spoke enthusiastically about his season and flagged the Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket on 10 October as the target if he ran again before a winter break. Having raced just one day ago, he remains active and clearly has one more big effort potentially in him before the season closes. A horse in form at the right trip, with a trainer in full flow — that is not a bad combination heading into a Newmarket feature.