Nancy J

Her record on paper — one win and two places from nine races, winning roughly 1 in every 9 — does not immediately shout "watch this one." But context matters. That sole win came at Gowran Park in August 2024, and what happened that day told you a lot. Jockey Shane Foley, who has ridden her in seven of her nine races and won once together, described a horse that was professional, easy to ride, and already green enough to think about sightseeing rather than winning as hard as she could. She still won. That blend of natural ability and immaturity is often the hallmark of a horse with genuine upside once the penny drops.

The last six runs have shown nothing — two fifths, an eighth, a third, and another eighth — but the most recent of those came at Gowran Park, and Murtagh was clear that she got no luck in running there. A horse who is doing nothing wrong at home and simply met traffic on the track is a very different proposition to one who is genuinely struggling. She is now set for the Sandringham, one of the top races at Royal Ascot, and the trainer's reference point is her form from the Irish Champions Festival last season — a serious benchmark.

She performs best over seven furlongs to a mile, winning 1 from 4 races at those trips, a 25% win rate that stands well above her overall numbers. That is the window where she finds her rhythm and her speed has room to work. She has been off the track for roughly seven months, which means this return will tell the story — either she bounces back to that Irish Champions Festival level and announces herself on a big stage, or the Sandringham reveals she still has more learning to do. Murtagh clearly believes it is the former.