Booyea

The partnership with jockey Gavin Ryan is worth noting. In 13 races together, they have won 3 times — that is almost 1 in every 4 rides, which is a strong conversion rate for any combination. It suggests Ryan understands this horse well, and the yard at Trim under trainer Thomas Gibney is clearly in decent fettle right now, having sent out 5 winners already this season.

Ground conditions matter a great deal with Booyea. On normal ground, the record reads 3 wins from 10 races — 30%, or almost 1 in every 3 — which is a sharp improvement on its overall average. That kind of split tells you this is a horse that wants the ground running properly beneath it, not churned up and heavy. When the conditions suit, it is a genuinely competitive animal.

The concern, and it is a real one, is that Booyea has not won in its last 6 races, with recent finishes of tenth, fifteenth, sixth, second and tenth offering a mixed picture at best. The last victory came at The Curragh in June 2024 — nearly two years ago now — and the sequence since then has not threatened to add a fifth win to the tally. That said, the horse raced just one day ago and remains active, so Gibney clearly believes there is still something to work with.

Whether Booyea can recapture the form that brought up that Curragh win remains the question. The raw ingredients — a reliable jockey combination, a yard in form, and a horse that wins close to 1 in 3 on its preferred ground — are all still there. It just needs everything to click at the right moment.