Christmas Day

His career started at Gowran Park in September 2025, and from there things escalated quickly. After a bumpy period where a decent run at Tipperary did not quite come together, the team were patient with him. Chris Armstrong, speaking for the yard at the time, noted that Christmas Day needed to fill his frame — he was a big horse who had not yet grown into himself. That patience paid off. By the time he ran at Leopardstown in April 2026, he had become exactly the imposing presence Armstrong had predicted, winning a Group race — one of the most prestigious categories in racing — around a track he clearly loves.

What makes the Leopardstown win particularly interesting is what was planned to follow it. Aidan O'Brien revealed afterwards that the team had intended to take Christmas Day to France for a Group One — the very top tier of European racing — before a temperature forced the trip to be shelved. That is not a small detail. It tells you that the people who see this horse every single day believed he was ready to compete at the highest level on the continent. The setback was frustrating, but it also confirms the regard in which he is held.

O'Brien's yard has sent out 144 winners already this season, so the bar for getting attention in that operation is genuinely high. Christmas Day has cleared it. He won the Eyrefield on his final run last season — a significant trial race — and the trainer noted heading into this year that he would be aimed at a Derby trial. The Derby is the most famous Flat race in the world, run over a mile and a half at Epsom, and horses aimed at its trials are expected to be the real thing.

He raced just yesterday, keeping his recent form — first, first, first, fifth, third in his last five runs — ticking over. A horse this lightly raced, this consistent, and with this kind of ambition mapped out ahead of him is one worth following closely.