Ollie La Ba Ba

The horse didn't register his first career win until July 2024 at Downpatrick, which means he spent a fair chunk of his racing life in the also-ran column before finally breaking through. When he did win again, it came at Listowel in September 2025 — and Listowel is no ordinary venue. It hosts one of Irish racing's most celebrated festivals, and getting your name in the winner's enclosure there means something. That win, though, was nine months ago, and his recent form makes for difficult reading: his last six runs show finishes of 6-6-6-1-6-3 — essentially one bright afternoon sandwiched between a string of disappointing efforts.

His regular partner in the saddle is G B Noonan, who has ridden him in 12 of his 20 races and won once together — 8 in every 100 rides, or roughly 1 win from every 12 outings. That is a quiet record for a regular partnership, though it reflects the horse's general tendency to run respectably without threatening the front. Behind him in the stable is trainer Eoin Christopher McCarthy, based in Athea, County Limerick — a yard that has sent out 15 winners already this season, so it is not short of form. The fact that Ollie La Ba Ba hasn't contributed more to that tally suggests he is simply a horse that needs everything to go right on the day.

What makes him worth watching, at least for the curious, is that he raced just yesterday and remains active. At 8 years old, horses tend to know their job — the question is whether the spark that produced that Listowel win is still in there somewhere, or whether that afternoon was as good as it gets. Given his recent pattern, the patient observer is probably the best kind to be.