Moments Of Joy

The win came at Leopardstown in June 2025, and she hasn't been back in the winner's enclosure since. But the six races that followed tell their own story. She finished fifth in the Fillies' Mile, which is one of the most prestigious races of the season for young horses and a traditional stepping stone to the Classics. Getting beaten in a race like that is nothing to be ashamed of — the horses who run in the Fillies' Mile are, by definition, among the best of their generation. Finishing fifth there puts Moments Of Joy in very different company from an ordinary horse who simply hasn't won lately.

She has shown her best form at distances between seven furlongs and a mile, winning 1 of her 3 races at those trips — a solid 33%, or roughly 1 in 3 races at her optimum range. That is the kind of figure that sharpens attention, because it suggests when conditions suit her, she delivers.

The yard behind her is one of the most powerful in the world. Aidan P O'Brien, based at Cashel in County Tipperary, has sent out 144 winners already this season — a number that reflects an operation running at extraordinary scale and quality. When a trainer of that calibre talks about a horse going into a trial for the Guineas or the Oaks, it is not wishful thinking. Those are two of the most famous races in the sport, and O'Brien's assessment that she ran well last season — specifically pointing to that Fillies' Mile run — suggests Moments Of Joy is seen as a genuine Classic contender within the yard.

She raced just yesterday and is very much a horse in training, with the spring targets still ahead of her. For a general racing fan, the simple version is this: she is a well-bred 3-year-old, trained by one of the best in the world, who has already shown she can compete at a high level and is now being pointed at the biggest races of the season.