Daler

That one win came at Dundalk in October 2025, and it mattered. Dundalk is an all-weather track in Ireland that runs through the winter months, and horses who figure it out tend to do so repeatedly. Daler found the winning feeling there, and the question now is whether a return to similar conditions can unlock it again. The recent form tells a story of a horse working its way back into contention — finishing third, then fourth, then eighth, with a blank run in between. That is not a horse going backwards; that is a horse getting closer.

The partnership with Colin Keane is one of the more curious footnotes in this profile. Keane is one of Ireland's most respected jockeys, a multiple champion rider, and yet in ten races together he and Daler have not once reached the winner's enclosure. Zero wins from ten attempts is a striking statistic, and it raises a genuine question about whether a change of jockey might change the horse's fortunes. Sometimes a different set of hands brings out something that was always there.

Daler is trained by G M Lyons at Dunsany in Co Meath, a yard that has sent out 49 winners already this season. That is a productive, well-run operation, which means Daler is not being kept in training out of sentiment — there is a belief here that the horse has more to give. At four years old, it is still relatively young and still learning what racing asks of it. Plenty of horses take time to find their best form, and one win from 15 races is not a ceiling — it might simply be the start.