Dark Moon Rising

The most recent chapter in that story was written at Southwell in November 2024, when Dark Moon Rising landed a Class 2 race — a result that confirmed he still belongs at that level even if he does not win there often. Two wins from 21 races at Class 2 (a 10% rate) sounds modest, but simply competing and placing consistently at that standard over a long career is not nothing. His best distance range appears to be a mile and one to a mile and two furlongs, where he has won 1 from 3 races — a 33% rate that leaps off the page compared to his overall numbers. On normal ground he has won 2 from 11 races, or roughly 1 in every 5, which is a meaningful uptick.

Jockey Shane Gray captured something important after one of his wins, noting that Dark Moon Rising can be frustratingly inconsistent — "I don't know what was up with him, he hasn't been performing" — but that on his day he travels powerfully and wins with something in hand. Ryan himself described him early in his career as a big, laid-back horse who had to learn on the job. That character seems to have stayed with him.

He has not won in his last six races, and his last victory was 18 months ago. Tom Eaves, who rides him most often, has won just 1 of their 12 races together. But with Dark Moon Rising still active — he raced just yesterday — and Kevin Ryan's yard in fine form with 45 winners already this season, there is no sense this story is finished yet.