Eddies Pride

The most recent chapter makes for difficult reading. Eddies Pride hasn't won in its last 6 races, and recent form figures of 5th, 7th, 10th, and 14th suggest the horse has been gradually slipping further back in the field rather than threatening the front. That's a concern coming into any race, particularly for an 11-year-old returning from a break of around three months — the longest lay-off adds another question mark about where the horse is physically and mentally right now.

Its two career wins do tell an interesting story. The first came at Fairyhouse in November 2022, and the most recent at Clonmel in April 2024 — that's now two full years without a victory. When Eddies Pride has won, regular jockey G B Noonan has been in the saddle. The pair have ridden together 15 times and won twice, which works out to winning 2 in every 15 races together — not a prolific partnership, but the wins that have come have been shared between them. Trainer Norman Lee's yard has managed just one winner so far this season, so this isn't a stable firing on all cylinders at the moment either.

Eddies Pride isn't without a story worth following. Any horse that has raced 37 times clearly has durability and a willingness to keep turning up. But a two-year winning drought, a declining run of form, and a return from a significant break all point in the same direction. For this horse to surprise people, everything would need to fall right — the right day, the right race, and perhaps a reminder of what it looked like at Clonmel two years ago.