Anzadam

The six-year-old has won 2 of his 8 races, which works out at roughly 1 in every 4, and has placed three more times. His first win came at Fairyhouse in November 2024, and his second at Naas in January 2025. Since then, across six races, he hasn't managed to get back to the winner's enclosure — his recent form reads 4-4-4-7-7-4, never far off but never quite finding that extra gear.

What makes those bare numbers genuinely interesting is the context. After winning at Naas, Mullins was weighing up whether to take on Constitution Hill — one of the best hurdlers in the world — in the Champion Hurdle, or hold back for a longer race at Aintree. That's not the kind of conversation you have about an ordinary horse. He also noted after a run at Leopardstown that Anzadam "has a fair engine" and could be a Grade 1 horse if the team can get his jumping and enthusiasm under control. The horse races keen — he wants to go to the front, he jumps boldly, and he pulls his jockey along. That's exciting, but it burns energy that you want saved for the finish.

Mullins trains out of Muine Bheag in Co Carlow, and his yard has sent out 220 winners already this season — that's an extraordinary operation, arguably the most powerful in the sport. When a trainer of that calibre says he's "a little disappointed" with how a horse's year has gone, but also says he hasn't given up hope and still has "one or two more things to try," that tells you something. He hasn't written the horse off. He's still problem-solving.

Anzadam raced just yesterday, so he's right in the thick of his season. The picture being painted here is of a horse with genuine ability — possibly top-level ability — who hasn't yet found a way to show it consistently. Whether Mullins can unlock that potential is one of the quieter stories worth following this jumps season.