Thegraveyardbookie

That single win came at Limerick on 29 December 2023 — a cold midwinter afternoon at a track just down the road from the yard in Rathkeale, Co. Limerick where E McNamara trains. It was a homecoming result in every sense. Limerick is local, and the horse has never managed to repeat the trick since. In the 27 months that have followed, Thegraveyardbookie has gone six races without winning, the most recent form figures reading 7-5-7 among the completed efforts — middle-of-the-pack finishes that suggest a horse finding its level rather than building toward something.

The most interesting detail here might be the gap. Thegraveyardbookie has not raced in roughly ten months — 321 days, to be precise — and is now returning from what has been a significant break. At six years old, this is a horse that should be hitting its prime, and McNamara's yard is not short of confidence this season, having sent out 22 winners. Conor McNamara has been in the saddle for seven of the eleven career races, winning once together — that is a win rate of 14%, or 1 in every 7 rides, which is actually slightly better than the horse's overall record and suggests a partnership that works when things click.

Whether the long absence signals a fresh start or simply reflects the realities of a horse that has taken time to find its feet, only the next few races will tell. For now, Thegraveyardbookie remains a small-yard horse with one tidy win to its name, a strong local connection, and a name that will make anyone smile when they read it on the racecard. Sometimes that is enough to make a horse worth watching.