War Correspondent

What's interesting about War Correspondent is that he shows a clear preference for normal ground conditions. When the track is at standard, he's won 2 of his 21 races there—a 10% win rate, which is nearly double his overall rate. On faster or wetter ground he rarely wins, which suggests a trainer who knows his horse well enough to pick the right days. John Joseph Hanlon, based in Bagenalstown, has sent out eleven winners this season and keeps War Correspondent actively campaigned, which speaks to a horse who stays sound and race-fit even if the results don't always come. In the saddle, War Correspondent is most familiar with Mr P J Cody, though their record together of 1 win from 10 races suggests the jockey is not the magic ingredient. War Correspondent is the kind of horse racing people know well: honest, genuine, and willing to turn up week after week, but never quite the horse you'd back with real money. His recent form shows no wins in his last six runs, with mostly mid-field finishes. That's a horse treading water, but at least he's still swimming.