Banbridge

The big occasions suit him. His wins include top races at Cheltenham, Aintree, and twice at Kempton Park, the first of those coming on Boxing Day 2024. He is a genuine course specialist at Kempton, winning 2 of his 3 visits there — a record that speaks to something more than luck. When jockey J J Slevin is in the saddle, that record improves further still: together they have won 6 of their 13 races, a remarkable 46% win rate that makes them one of the more dangerous partnerships in the sport.

That said, Banbridge has not won in his last six races, and his recent form — a pull-up among those runs — makes it clear this is a horse at a particular crossroads. He is ten years old, he has been to the well at the biggest festivals, and the trainer has been candid about the key variable: ground. O'Brien has said publicly that Banbridge needs fast, dry conditions to be at his absolute best at this stage of his career, and those are not always easy to find at Cheltenham in March. The question of whether he heads there or waits for Aintree in April will be settled, O'Brien says, closer to the time — with the weather having as much say as anyone.

Jockey Sean Bowen summed up the horse neatly after a Cheltenham run: "He doesn't quite get three miles and is a bit in between trips, but he stays on well." That is the portrait of a horse that makes every post a winning one when conditions align — fast ground, the right distance, the right track — and one that his trainer and owner Ronnie Bartlett clearly believe still has a big day left in him.