Uncle Pat

Those two wins tell an interesting story on their own. The first came at Downpatrick in August 2023, and the second arrived at Listowel in September 2024 — more than a year apart. Since Listowel, now 18 months ago, Uncle Pat has run six times without adding to his tally. And yet look at that recent form: 2-2-2 in three of his last five completed runs. He is not falling away or fading. He is consistently finishing second, which is either deeply encouraging or deeply frustrating depending on your point of view.

He is trained by W P Mullins at Muine Bheag in County Carlow — one of the most formidable training operations in the sport. The yard has sent out 237 winners already this season, a number that sounds almost implausible until you understand that Mullins is essentially a small industry. Uncle Pat is one thread in a very large tapestry. His most regular partnership in the saddle has been with Paul Townend, who has ridden him in 5 of his 13 races and won once — so roughly 1 in every 5 times they have teamed up, they have got the job done.

Uncle Pat is currently active, which means the next chapter is still being written. For a horse who has twice shown he can win, and who keeps placing with such dogged regularity, the question is simply whether there is a race out there right now that suits him well enough to turn one of those seconds into a first. If his recent form is anything to go by, he will not be far away when it happens.