Addragoole

The headline result came on St Stephen's Day at Leopardstown — one of the most watched race meetings of the Irish calendar — when Addragoole won on fast, dry ground over fences. His trainer Gavin Cromwell was quick to explain why the conditions mattered: this is a horse who had spent part of his summer racing at smaller tracks like Bellewstown, and when the ground dried out and the stage got bigger, he responded. That tells you something useful — he is not just a mudlark or a course specialist, but a horse with an appetite for the better days.

Cromwell, who operates a busy and successful yard out of Navan in County Meath — 98 winners in the current season alone — had been plotting this run carefully. Speaking in November, he noted that Addragoole had run with credit at Cheltenham the previous month, finishing fourth despite jumping errors and a jockey unable to claim his weight allowance. The plan was always to freshen him up and aim him squarely at Leopardstown over Christmas. It worked precisely as intended.

In the saddle for that win was jockey Keith Donoghue, who has ridden Addragoole in 8 of his 20 races and won on him twice — a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides together. That is a meaningful partnership. When Donoghue is aboard, Addragoole clearly goes well. His recent form reads 12-9-3-1-4-1, which translates as a horse who found his feet sharply after a rough patch — two wins in his last six races is genuinely encouraging form. Having raced just one day ago, Addragoole is as current as it gets, and with a trainer who clearly has a plan for him, he is worth following closely.