Encanto Bruno

At eight years old, Encanto Bruno has 4 wins and 7 places from 14 races in total, meaning he has won roughly 3 in every 10 races he has entered — a solid return, and one that looks even better when you narrow it down to conditions that suit him. On normal ground, he has won 4 of his 8 races, a 50% win rate that borders on extraordinary. His trainer John C McConnell, operating out of Stamullen in County Meath and already 38 winners into a productive season, has spoken about Encanto Bruno as a horse who is better on the track than he ever is at home — the kind who saves his best for when the crowd is in. McConnell has also hinted that the horse may be less dependent on ground conditions than his record suggests, and has not ruled out testing him on wet ground. Given how good he looks on a dry surface, that would be worth watching.

The partnership with jockey Keith Donoghue has produced 1 win from 5 races together — roughly 1 in 5 — which is a workmanlike rather than spectacular record, though the Cheltenham wins tell a more interesting story: keenness early, jumping big in places, but travelling with a ferocious enthusiasm that has twice carried him past the line first at one of racing's most demanding venues. McConnell has been open that the horse surprised even him with the strength of his Cheltenham performances.

He has not won in his last six races, and his most recent visit to the winner's enclosure was 32 months ago. That is the one shadow over an otherwise attractive profile. But he raced just yesterday and remains active, and with McConnell previously setting his sights on Cheltenham as a long-term target, a horse built for that stage — and proven on it — is rarely finished with it entirely.