Ile Atlantique

The overall record — 4 wins and 11 places from 17 races, winning roughly 1 in every 4 — is solid for a horse trained by one of the most powerful yards in jump racing. Willie Mullins, based in Co Carlow, has already sent out 230 winners this season alone, so to hold a place in that operation as an 8-year-old says something. The horse is not a passenger. Its first career win came at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day 2022, one of the most prestigious dates in the Irish racing calendar, and it last won at Naas in January 2025.

That Naas win prompted Mullins to talk about the horse in notably optimistic terms — pointing to how much stronger it had become and opening the door to a potential run at the Dublin Racing Festival, one of the biggest two-day meetings of the jumps season. But since then, six races have gone by without a win. The most recent start came just yesterday, and before that Mullins was candid: the horse had come to Naas underdone, visibly not fully fit in the parade ring, and he expected a much better showing next time. Mullins has also been clear that two miles to two and a half miles is the right trip — he does not think this horse wants three miles, which narrows the options but sharpens the targeting.

Ile Atlantique is most often ridden by Mr P W Mullins — the trainer's nephew — who has partnered it in 7 of its 17 races for 1 win together. The recent drought should not obscure what this horse is capable of when the rain falls and the distance is right. Mullins is clearly still confident enough in it to be making plans, and a horse that places in 11 of 17 races has a habit of being competitive even when the win does not come. The question is whether wet weather and a fresh start can bring the best of it back to the surface.