Midnight It Is

His last win came at Navan on 15 December 2024, now 17 months ago, and his recent form makes for sobering reading: he has finished no better than seventh in his last six races, with two last-place finishes among them. The clock is ticking on that winning streak, and the form figures are not encouraging. But Cromwell, who has sent out an impressive 98 winners already this season from his Navan base, is patient about the horse's prospects. He noted after a win at Limerick back in March 2022 that Midnight It Is had been trying hard without quite getting there, and that a run on faster, drier ground would suit him. That preference for better conditions may well explain some of the leaner patches.

Last season was the horse's best, with Cromwell describing him as progressive — winning at Navan and then running well enough to finish third in both the Dan Moore and the Grand Annual, two of the more prestigious races on the calendar. For a horse of this type, those performances represent a genuine career high point. The trainer says he is ready to go again now, though finding the right opportunity has not been straightforward.

Sean Flanagan has ridden Midnight It Is nine times and won twice — a win rate of 22%, or roughly 1 in every 4 rides together. That is a notably better return than the horse's overall career average, suggesting the partnership works. Whether they can find a way back to the winner's enclosure after 17 months without a win is the question hanging over this horse's season. At ten years old, with form figures trending in the wrong direction, the window may be narrowing — but Cromwell is not the kind of trainer to run a horse without believing in it.