Roccabaker

The most interesting thread running through Roccabaker's career is his partnership with Mr C M Quirke, who has been in the saddle for 9 of those 13 races. Together they've won 1 of those 9 races — about 1 in every 9 times out — and it was Quirke who was on board for that Tramore breakthrough. That kind of long-standing jockey-horse relationship matters; it means the rider knows exactly what he's working with, and Tramore's tight, turning track is the kind of place where familiarity pays off.

Trained by David Harry Kelly out of Rathvin in County Tipperary, Roccabaker is part of a yard that has hit its stride this season with 16 winners sent out already. Kelly clearly knows how to place his horses to give them a chance. Recent form shows a third place and a win in the last six races before a couple of quieter efforts, and with Roccabaker having raced just one day ago, he is clearly being kept busy. At 8 years old, horses tend to know their job — the question is always whether the right race comes along at the right moment. Tramore already answered that once.