Pray Tell

The partnership with jockey John Shinnick is worth noting. In 8 races together, Shinnick has ridden Pray Tell to 2 wins — that's 1 in every 4 rides ending in victory, which is a strong number. When a jockey and horse click like that, it usually means the rider understands how the horse wants to travel and when to ask. It's the kind of combination that punters quietly pay attention to.

The real key to Pray Tell might be the ground. On wet or muddy ground, this horse has won 2 of just 5 races — 40%, which is a remarkable conversion rate. That means when conditions are against most horses, Pray Tell is at its best. In Ireland, where soft ground is never far away, that's a genuinely useful weapon.

Pray Tell kicked off its winning account at Kilbeggan in September 2024 and followed that up with a win at Cork in December 2024. The most recent form, reading back from today, shows a second place and a fifth before things went quiet — there was a blank run, then a ninth, then that Cork win at the tail end of 2024. The horse is now 88 days off the track after what looks like a planned break, and comes back with a second and a fifth in its two most recent outings, suggesting it returned from rest in decent shape.

At 9 years old, Pray Tell knows its job. It has taken time to find its feet — that first win only came in September 2024 — but horses who discover form late can sometimes hold onto it just as stubbornly. Watch for it on a wet day, with Shinnick aboard, and you're looking at a horse that wins roughly 1 in every 2.5 races under those conditions. That is not a combination to dismiss lightly.