Lunar Power

The big moments, when they have come, arrived on normal ground — not too wet, not too firm, just standard conditions. Three of Lunar Power's four wins have come in those circumstances, a record of 3 wins from 15 races on that surface, or 1 in every 5. That is a genuinely meaningful pattern. On any other type of ground, the win column barely registers. So when the ground is right, there is a version of this horse worth watching.

The most interesting partnership in Lunar Power's record involves Colin Keane in the saddle. In just five races together, they have won twice — that is a 40% win rate, or 2 in 5, which is remarkable by any standard. For context, Lunar Power wins roughly 1 race in 10 overall. Something clearly clicks between horse and jockey, and those two wins together are almost half the horse's entire career tally.

The harder truth is that Lunar Power hasn't won since Ballinrobe on 29 May 2023 — now 36 months ago — and the last six races have produced nothing better than a fourth. That recent form line of 7-6-5-5-6-4 shows a horse that is placing without threatening to win. At the level where it most often competes — Class 4 races, which sit in the middle tier of British racing — Lunar Power has gone 0 from 7, which is a puzzle given its overall record. It seems to find that level just a little too competitive, which raises the question of whether the yard needs to find a softer opportunity to get the horse back in the winner's enclosure.

Laura Mongan's stable has sent out just one winner so far this season, so a Lunar Power revival would mean a great deal to the yard. Raced just yesterday and still active, this horse is clearly being kept busy — the question is whether one more win is still in there somewhere.