Watch Tower

That one win came at Leopardstown just this week, on 9 July 2026, and timing matters here. Leopardstown is one of Ireland's most prestigious tracks, a sharp, demanding circuit that doesn't flatter horses — it finds them out. Winning there is a meaningful result, not a soft one. The recent form reading 1-4-2-2 tells a story of a horse that has been knocking on the door repeatedly and finally kicked it open. A 17% win rate — roughly 1 in every 6 races — sounds modest, but when you factor in three places alongside it, Watch Tower has rarely run a bad race.

The distance picture is interesting too. Over seven furlongs to a mile, Watch Tower wins 1 from 4 races, a 25% record in that range. That's a meaningful improvement on its overall figures, and it suggests the yard has a clear picture of where this horse is at its best — quick enough to be competitive at seven furlongs, but with enough stamina to see out a mile. Knowing where a horse thrives is half the battle.

The trainer, G M Lyons, operates out of Dunsany in County Meath and has been in seriously good form this season — 43 winners already, which is the output of a yard running at the top of its game. Horses trained by Lyons tend to be well-placed and well-prepared, so the fact that Watch Tower has just landed a race at Leopardstown, rather than at a smaller, quieter track, suggests the team felt confident it was ready for a real test. Racing just yesterday, Watch Tower is very much in the thick of its season, and with its best distance now firmly established, there could easily be more to come before the year is out.