My Mate Alfie

The most interesting thing about My Mate Alfie is what the course record at The Curragh reveals. Three wins from 12 races there might not sound dramatic, but The Curragh is Ireland's most prestigious flat racing venue — the place where the country's best races are run and where the fields tend to be stacked with quality. Winning there once is an achievement. Winning there three times, from 12 attempts, means this horse genuinely thrives on that particular stretch of ground. Course specialists are rarer than people think, and it is a genuine edge when the entries come around.

Colin Keane has been in the saddle for all five of those wins. From 17 races together, they have won 5 — that is almost 1 in every 3 rides ending in victory, which is a striking number. Keane is not a jockey who gets on bad horses, and the fact that he keeps coming back to My Mate Alfie says something about what he sees in the horse.

That said, the current form asks questions. My Mate Alfie has not won in its last six races, and the most recent first is blank — a non-finish of some kind — followed by an eighth and a fifth. The last victory came at Naas in October 2024, 18 months ago now. Finishing second twice in that run of six suggests the horse is not running badly, just not quite finding that extra gear when it matters most.

Raced just yesterday and still active, this is a horse firmly in the mix of its career. Whether a return to The Curragh unlocks another win — the way it has three times before — is the question worth watching.