Marine Nationale

The Cheltenham record alone would be enough to build a profile around. Winning there once is an achievement. Winning there twice — in March 2023 and again in March 2025 — in the top tier of British racing tells you this is a horse who shows up when it matters. The trainer, Barry Connell, based in County Kildare, has been candid about how the horse is still developing over fences, describing him as effectively still learning the craft despite his experience. That is an unusual thing to say about a horse who has already won at the highest level, and it suggests there may be more to come.

His partnership with rider Mr M J M O'Sullivan is one of the quieter stories behind the record. Together they have won 6 of their 8 races — that is 75%, or three in every four times they have lined up side by side. That kind of consistency between horse and rider is not accidental. Connell has also been open about how much the horse dislikes very wet, muddy ground — at Leopardstown in heavy conditions, Marine Nationale finished second but never looked comfortable, with most of the field pulling up around him. When the ground is normal or faster, he is a different proposition entirely.

His Punchestown record is perhaps the most impressive single statistic in his career: three wins from four races there, most recently in April 2025. Horses often travel well to certain tracks for reasons that are hard to pin down — the shape of the bends, the camber of the ground, the distance between fences. Whatever Punchestown offers Marine Nationale, he takes to it like few others. With the yard in good form — seven winners already this season — and this horse racing just one day ago and still active, the story is clearly not finished.