The Truant

The Truant opened its winning account at Sligo in August 2022, and that track has become something of a home away from home. Two wins from just four races there — that means every time The Truant has shown up at Sligo, it has had a 50-50 chance of winning. For a horse with a 10% win rate overall, that is a remarkable contrast and suggests something about the track suits it perfectly, whether that is the shape of the course, the distance, or simply the familiar surroundings.

Ground conditions matter enormously in racing, and The Truant is a horse that genuinely thrives when the turf has a bit of give in it — not heavy, waterlogged ground, but slightly soft conditions after a shower or two. On that surface it has won 2 from 6, a 33% win rate that is more than three times its overall average. In racing terms, that kind of preference is gold dust if you can catch the right day.

The most recent win came at Punchestown in October 2025 — a quality venue, which tells you this is not a horse scraping around at the bottom level. Seven months have passed since then, and the last six runs have produced finishes of eighth, fourth, seventh, fourth, fourth, and fifth — consistently close, but the breakthrough has not come. That sequence of placed efforts without a win is the kind of thing that keeps racing fans watching.

Kevin Sexton has ridden The Truant seven times and won once together, a 14% win rate that edges above the horse's overall average — a combination worth noting. Trained by Michael Attwater out of Epsom in Surrey, The Truant belongs to a yard in form this season, having sent out 27 winners. With races coming around fast — The Truant ran just yesterday — the search for win number six is very much live.