Zanahiyr

The most striking tension in Zanahiyr's record is what happens when the races get serious. In six attempts at the very top level — Class 1, the biggest races on the calendar — the horse has drawn a blank, zero wins from six tries. That is not unusual for a horse operating at that height, but it does paint a picture: competitive enough to be entered, not quite electric enough to win when the very best turn up. The places and near-misses at that level are still worth something, both in prize money and in what they say about the horse's quality.

What gives the profile a lift is the recent form. Two wins from the last six races is a genuine purple patch for a horse of this age and profile, and both came in 2025. The last victory arrived at Bellewstown in August, which means Zanahiyr is now returning from a seven-month break — a significant absence that always raises questions about whether a horse comes back as sharp as it left.

Jack Kennedy has been the regular partner, riding in 16 of the 28 races together and winning 4 of them — that is a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4, which is comfortably above the horse's overall average. That kind of partnership tends to build through familiarity, and Kennedy clearly gets something out of this horse that others do not.

Behind all of this sits Gordon Elliott's yard in Longwood, Co Meath — one of the most powerful operations in jump racing, having sent out 209 winners already this season alone. That volume of success means Elliott's horses are always taken seriously on a raceday, and Zanahiyr, returning from its break with two recent wins in the book, will be no different. The question is whether seven months off has blunted the edge, or whether this is a horse coming back fresh and ready to add a sixth career win to the tally.