La Tulipe Noire

The most recent win came at Roscommon in October 2025, which is now seven months in the rearview mirror. That victory came at a distance of between one mile one furlong and one mile two furlongs, which is where this horse genuinely finds its best form. Two of its three career wins have come at that range, and across 17 races at those distances it has won 2 of them — a win rate of 12%, compared to a career average of just 7%. It is not a dramatic difference, but it is real. When La Tulipe Noire is pointed at the right trip, it becomes a noticeably more competitive animal.

Jockey Jessica O'Gorman has been the most successful partner in the saddle, winning 2 of 10 races together — that is 1 in every 5 rides, which is comfortably better than the horse's overall record. That kind of partnership matters. The horse has raced for trainer Aengus King, based in Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, and the yard has been in reasonable form this season with 5 winners sent out.

The recent run of results is harder to dress up. The last six races have produced a run that did not finish — likely a non-completion — followed by finishes of seventh, eighth, fifth, ninth, and tenth. That is a stretch of six races without a win, and the placings in that sequence are largely mid-to-back-of-the-field. The horse raced just yesterday, which means it is very much in active campaign. Whether a return to its preferred distance can spark a revival is the question worth watching. La Tulipe Noire has done it before — just not recently.