Fakir d'Oudairies

The Aintree win in particular seemed to crystallise exactly what this horse is: a specialist at the highest level, over around two and a half miles, at his very best when the occasion demands it. Jockey Mark Walsh described it with obvious delight afterwards — noting a perfectly timed jump at the last fence that sealed the deal — and the trainer Joseph O'Brien was quick to point out that the distance suited him beautifully. Walsh has ridden him in 10 races and won 3 of them, a 30% win rate that suggests the pair bring out the best in each other.

What makes the current chapter of his story more complicated is that Fakir d'Oudairies has not won a race in 40 months. His last victory came at Thurles in January 2023, and his recent form — a sequence that includes a second place but also some disappointing finishes further back in the field — suggests the brilliance of 2022 has proved difficult to recapture. His form figures across his last six races (2-14-6-4-13-4, reading from most recent) tell a story of inconsistency, with flashes of promise alongside runs that fade into the pack.

Trained by E Bolger out of Bruree in County Limerick — a yard that has sent out 14 winners this season — Fakir d'Oudairies raced just yesterday, which means he remains very much an active participant rather than a fading presence. At 11, most horses are winding down. The question now is whether there is one more big day in him, or whether the two Class 1 wins of 2022 represent the peak of a career that deserved every moment of the spotlight it got.