July Flower

Trained by Henry De Bromhead out of Knockeen in County Waterford, July Flower is part of a yard that has sent out 107 winners this season alone — a serious operation with serious horses. De Bromhead has been open about the decisions made around her: the team were unsure whether to send her over fences at all last summer, but owner Duncan Angove was keen to try, and it has paid off handsomely. She won at Limerick, then the team dropped her back in trip for Cheltenham, and she jumped brilliantly to win at the top level. Her jockey Rachel Blackmore has highlighted her jumping as an exceptional asset — in a discipline where one bad leap can end a race in a moment, that is no small thing.

Her recent form reads 1-1-3-5-4 across her last five completed runs before her most recent outing just yesterday, and the picture it paints is of a horse at the peak of her powers who hit a small bump. De Bromhead was honest that her run at Leopardstown over Christmas was a little disappointing — the combination of a longer trip on softer ground seemed to find her out, tiring before the final fence despite looking dangerous turning in. It is the kind of run that would worry you less if you had seen Cheltenham, and clearly De Bromhead has not lost faith.

The next big decision is whether she runs in the Mares' Chase or the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival — and De Bromhead has said he is leaning toward the Mares'. That tells you something about where this horse sits in the pecking order: not a rank outsider taking her chance, but a genuine contender being placed carefully. For a horse who only opened her account at Leopardstown in December 2024, she has moved through the grades at a striking pace. The trajectory is hard to ignore.