Will Do

At nine years old, Will Do is an experienced campaigner, and experience cuts both ways. The horse knows its job, handles the pressure of race day without fuss, and has banked enough placed finishes to suggest it genuinely belongs at this level. But the last win came at Thurles back in November 2023 — nearly 29 months ago now — and the six races since have produced nothing better than a second place. That blank run is the thing that catches the eye. One near-miss is fine; six consecutive winless outings starts to raise questions about whether another victory is still in the locker.

The partnership with Jack Kennedy is one of the more encouraging threads in Will Do's story. Kennedy, one of Ireland's leading jump jockeys, has won 2 of the 10 races they have contested together — that's a 20% win rate, or 1 in every 5 rides. That is meaningfully better than the horse's overall record and suggests Kennedy gets something out of Will Do that others don't quite find. Whether he is aboard for the next run remains to be seen.

Behind all of this sits Gordon Elliott, one of the most powerful training operations in Ireland. Elliott's yard at Longwood in Co Meath has sent out 209 winners already this season — a number that puts it firmly among the elite. Having a horse in Elliott's care is no small thing; the resources, the staff, and the race-planning are all top tier. That Will Do has only three career wins despite that backing is not a criticism — plenty of horses never win at all — but it does suggest this is a horse that has found its level rather than one still climbing toward it. Currently active and raced just 19 days ago, Will Do is clearly fit and still in the mix. Whether that next win is coming is the only real question left to answer.