Zephron

The real story with Zephron is finding the right conditions. The horse absolutely thrives on very wet, muddy ground—it has won two of five races on such surfaces, which is a genuine sweet spot at 40 percent. That kind of win rate on testing ground is the sort of detail that matters to the people who know this horse best. It also has a track it understands: The Curragh, where it has won twice in ten visits. Those two wins came at decent intervals, the most recent nearly two and a half years ago in April 2024, which means Zephron last tasted victory before many racing seasons had turned over.

The past half-year has been harder going. In its last six races, Zephron has not found the winner's enclosure once, placing only once with mostly mid-field finishes. It was back in action just a day ago, which shows A. McCann's Castleblaney yard is still confident there is a race to be won. Leigh Roche, its most frequent jockey, has partnered the horse nine times but managed just the one victory together—a relationship that has not quite clicked. At nine years old, Zephron is old enough that every race matters. The horse will need wet ground underfoot and another trip to a track where it knows its way around if it is to add to a tally that has grown long quiet.