Andab

His first win came at The Curragh in May 2025, and it clearly caught even his own team off guard. Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle, who has now partnered him for 6 of his 8 races and won 2 of those — roughly 1 in every 3 — told Racing TV afterwards that the performance came as a surprise. He noted how well Andab jumped and travelled, and that it took a good while to pull him up at the end, which jockeys tend to read as a sign of a horse with real engine. He felt comfortable predicting the horse would have no trouble stepping up to longer distances.

The second win, at Dundalk in October, came under the artificial lights of an all-weather track — a new experience for the horse — and McMonagle was quick to point out that he wandered slightly once he hit the front, the way young horses sometimes do when they find themselves in unfamiliar territory. The composure he showed to win anyway was telling. Between the two victories, Andab had run in a Group 2 race in Deauville, which is one of the highest levels of competition in European racing. He did not win, but the jockey was clear that it was a good performance — and the subsequent form of the horses he raced against has backed that up.

His trainer, Joseph Patrick O'Brien, based at Owning Hill in Co Kilkenny, runs one of the most productive yards in Ireland — 160 winners already this season. O'Brien has spoken recently about Andab's runs in Qatar and Newcastle, where things did not quite fall right for him, and is eyeing a Listed race at The Curragh in early May as a possible next target. Andab raced just a day ago, so he is right in the thick of his season — a young horse with a growing résumé and, if the people around him are to be believed, plenty more to give.