Steps In The Sand

The record does come with a caveat. Steps In The Sand has not won in its last six races, and its most recent win came at Galway on 1 August 2025 — now a full year ago. The recent form figures of 3-4-blank-9-8-2 tell an interesting story: there are some solid efforts in there, including a second and two thirds, but the win has been elusive. Whether that is a question of opportunity, ground, or simply a horse that is running into slightly better company each time, it is the key thing to watch going forward.

What does stand out is how the horse performs on normal ground conditions. In 9 races on standard going, Steps In The Sand has won twice — a win rate of 22%, or roughly 1 in every 4 and a half races. That might sound modest in isolation, but it is noticeably better than its overall career rate of 14%, which works out to about 1 win in every 7 races. Ground clearly makes a difference here, and the yard will be hoping for dry conditions when they decide the time is right.

Jockey E Walsh has been the regular partner for most of the horse's career, riding it in 15 of its 51 races and winning twice — a win rate of 13%, or just under 1 in 8. That is a solid, consistent partnership, and familiarity between horse and rider at this level is never something to underestimate.

Trainer Ciaran Murphy, based in Mullingar in County Westmeath, has sent out 18 winners this season — a healthy output for a yard operating at this level. Steps In The Sand raced just one day ago, so it is clearly in a busy spell of work. Whether that freshness or that fatigue tips the balance next time out, the horse's record suggests it will be competitive. It has been 51 times before. It will show up again.