The Gradual Slope

The current run of form is genuinely encouraging. After two blank runs in the middle of the sequence, The Gradual Slope came back with a third-place finish and then followed that with a win at Fairyhouse just this week — so the horse arrives into the profile as hot as it gets, having raced only yesterday. That Fairyhouse win on 04 April 2026 is the latest chapter in a career that started at Kilbeggan back in June 2022, and it suggests that at nine years old, there is still plenty left in the tank.

One thing worth noting is what happens when the ground gets wet and heavy. On soft or muddy ground, The Gradual Slope has won 2 races from just 11 — an 18% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 5 and a half races. That might not sound dramatic, but it is almost double the horse's overall rate, and it tells you that the yard — sorry, that the team — would rather see rain in the forecast than sunshine. Wet ground genuinely suits this horse, and that is a useful edge to have in the Irish climate.

Mark McDonagh is the regular partner in the saddle, having teamed up with The Gradual Slope for 23 of those 37 races. Their record together reads 2 wins from 23 — about 1 in every 11 — which is a touch below the horse's overall average. But the sheer number of times they have been paired suggests a working relationship built on familiarity rather than flash results, and McDonagh clearly knows this horse's rhythms well. A nine-year-old coming off a winner earlier this week, still racing, still placing — The Gradual Slope is a modest horse doing exactly what modest horses do best: proving people wrong by just keeping going.