Miss Oreo

That single win came at Fairyhouse in October 2023, and it remains the defining moment of her career — now 32 months ago and counting. Fairyhouse is one of Ireland's most celebrated tracks, so getting her name on the board there is no small thing, but the fact that she has not come close to repeating it across six races since tells its own story. Her recent sequence reads: two non-completions, a win, a fourth, then a fourteenth and ninth before that — form that swings around enough to suggest she can still show up on the right day, even if those days have become rare.

She is trained by John Joseph Hanlon out of Bagenalstown in Co Carlow, a yard that has sent out 11 winners this season and is clearly capable of getting horses to the track in good nick. Mr Paddy Hanlon has been her most regular partner in the saddle, riding her nine times without a win between them — 0 from 9 is a difficult run for any combination, though it largely reflects the horse's overall record rather than any single weak link. Miss Oreo raced just yesterday, so she is as active as they come right now.

At this stage of her career, Miss Oreo is the kind of horse whose the yard keep running because she remains capable of the occasional bright performance — that Fairyhouse win proves it happened once, and in racing, once is enough to keep hope alive.