Watch The Weather

The partnership with Rachael Blackmore is where things get genuinely striking. In 9 races together, the pair have won 3 times — that is 1 win in every 3, a ratio that stands well above the horse's overall average and suggests something clicks between jockey and horse that doesn't always happen with other riders. Blackmore is one of the most celebrated jockeys in the sport, and the fact that Watch The Weather performs so much better with her aboard is not a coincidence worth ignoring.

There are also two very specific places where this horse has made its mark. At Wexford, it has won 2 of its 6 races — 1 in every 3 outings at that track, which is the kind of consistency that course specialists take years to build. It also has a clear preference for slightly soft, wet ground, winning 2 of its 7 races in those conditions, compared to a much thinner record elsewhere. Horses that prefer wet ground can be frustratingly weather-dependent, but when the conditions come together, Watch The Weather clearly knows what to do with them.

The most recent win came at Punchestown in November 2024, and with the last 6 races producing no victories — including a fifth-place finish just yesterday — the question hanging over the yard is whether that Punchestown performance was the last hurrah or simply a quiet spell before another good day arrives. R P Cody has sent out 6 winners already this season, so the operation is clearly in decent shape. Watch The Weather has been around long enough and shown enough quality in the right circumstances that writing it off entirely would be a mistake. Catch it on a wet day at a track it knows well, and this is a horse that has already shown it can surprise people.