Matt Connor

That career record alone would be decent enough, but what makes Matt Connor genuinely interesting is how sharply he has come into his own lately. Three wins from his last six races is a remarkable uptick for any horse, and a sequence of 12-1-1-4-1-5 reads like a horse that has found its groove. The two finishes outside the placings bookend a purple patch in the middle, with back-to-back wins suggesting this is not a flash in the pan. His most recent victory came at Gowran Park on 8 April 2026 — just three weeks ago — so the form is live and fresh.

The distance question is worth paying attention to. At a mile and three to a mile and four furlongs, Matt Connor has won 2 of his 4 races — a 50% win rate at those trips. In racing terms, that is an extraordinary return. It tells you the team knows exactly where to place him, and that when conditions suit, he is very hard to beat. Finding a horse's ideal distance is half the battle, and Dempsey appears to have solved that puzzle.

W J Lee has been a key part of the picture. In five rides together, Lee has won twice — winning 2 in every 5, or 40% — a pairing that clearly works. That is not a coincidence; it is a combination a trainer keeps coming back to for a reason. Dempsey's yard has sent out 16 winners already this season, so this is not a one-horse operation running on luck — it is a team in form, pointing a horse in form at the right targets.

Matt Connor raced just yesterday, which tells you he is being kept busy and is standing up well to his racing. First getting off the mark at Cork back in April 2023, he has taken three years to develop into the horse he is now. Some take time — and this one looks to be peaking at exactly the right moment.