Jr Mahon

What's interesting, though, is what Donoghue said about Jr Mahon's most recent run at Leopardstown. Rather than treating it as another disappointing effort, the trainer came away encouraged — pointing out that the horse only really clicked into gear inside the final furlong and a half, then finished strongly through the line. In other words, the race might have looked unremarkable on paper, but to the trained eye there were signs that something is beginning to register. Donoghue even drew a comparison to Kinesiology, a horse he trained last year, suggesting he sees a similar developmental arc — a horse that takes time to mature but eventually puts it all together.

The yard is based at Clonalvy in County Meath and has been in solid form this season, sending out 26 winners. That kind of output suggests Donoghue knows how to get horses ready to win, and he's been deliberate about managing Jr Mahon's programme — passing up a quicker return at Tipperary to instead target Navan in a fortnight. He's flagged him as a middle-distance type, which hints at a horse who needs a proper test of stamina to show his best, and may have been slightly found out in shorter or sharper races up to now.

Jr Mahon is still young enough and active enough that the story isn't over. Fourteen races without a win is a long road, but if Donoghue's reading of that Leopardstown run is correct — that the penny is finally starting to drop — then Navan could be the moment things change. Plenty of horses take longer than expected to figure it out. The question is whether Jr Mahon has enough ability to make the wait worthwhile once he does.