Pure Steel

The partnership with jockey Mark Walsh looks like a key part of the story. In 5 races together, Walsh has ridden Pure Steel to 2 wins — a 40% win rate, which is a remarkable number by any measure. For context, winning 2 in every 5 races is the kind of ratio that makes trainers very happy to keep booking the same jockey. Something clearly clicks between horse and rider.

Pure Steel is trained by James Joseph Mangan, based in Mallow, County Cork — and there's a neat local pride angle here, given that the horse's first career win came at Cork on 17 January 2025. It's always satisfying when a yard's horse wins on home turf. Mangan's yard has sent out 2 winners this season, and Pure Steel accounts for both of them, which tells you exactly how important this horse is to the operation right now.

The most recent win came at Punchestown on 11 December 2025 — a venue with a big reputation in Irish racing — and Pure Steel has raced just yesterday, so this is a horse in active campaign. The recent form reads 4-5-1-3-1-4, which shows a horse that blows hot and cold but always finds its way back to winning. Those two wins sandwiched between placings and mid-field finishes suggest Pure Steel performs best when everything lines up just right, rather than dominating week in, week out. But when it does find its moment, it delivers — and with Mark Walsh in the saddle, the chances of that happening appear to shorten considerably.