Ballygeary

The highlight of Ballygeary's career so far came at Market Rasen in June 2024, when he stepped up to win a Class 2 race — one of the better races in Britain — and showed he could handle a proper occasion. That win stands as his most recent, which is now 23 months ago, and his last 6 races have produced nothing better than a third. That's a lean spell, but it doesn't tell the whole story. He has run respectably in stronger company, and the trainer noted after one recent outing that Ballygeary actually jumped better than he had before at Aintree — small signs, but encouraging ones.

The horse's most productive partnership has been with jockey Brian Hughes, who has ridden him 12 times and won 3 of them — a win rate of 1 in 4 races together, which is noticeably better than Ballygeary's overall average. That kind of chemistry between horse and jockey is worth paying attention to. Where it gets trickier is at Class 3 level, where Ballygeary has raced most often — 11 times, with just 1 win (roughly 1 in 11). That gap between his Class 2 peak and his Class 3 record suggests he's a horse who can deliver something special when conditions click, but consistency at that level has been harder to find.

What makes Ballygeary genuinely interesting going forward is the conversation around his future. Sowersby has mentioned the possibility of switching him to chasing — jumping fences rather than hurdles — which at nine years old would be a late career change, but not unheard of. Donald McCain, quoted after a run at Bangor-on-Dee, suggested he's a horse who benefits from having others to race against and settles better with a lead. A horse who is still active, still competitive at the top end of his career, and potentially about to change disciplines entirely — there's plenty of reason to keep watching Ballygeary.