Ramillies

Those two wins came at Punchestown in February 2022 and then Thurles in December of the same year — a productive 10-month window that suggested a horse finding his feet. The problem is what came next. That Thurles win is now 40 months ago, and in the six races since, Ramillies hasn't managed to get back to the winner's enclosure. His recent form — a handful of placed efforts mixed with some blank days — paints the picture of a horse who shows up and competes without quite delivering. Second place is fine; it just doesn't pay the bills.

Adding another layer to all this is the 331-day absence. Nearly 11 months off the track is a significant break for any horse, and at 10 years old, Ramillies is at the stage of his career where comebacks carry more questions than answers. Younger horses bounce back; older ones sometimes just need more time, and sometimes the time away tells you something. Whether this return marks a fresh chapter or simply another appearance in a long chapter that's been winding down is the interesting question.

His trainer D M Christie has had just one winner from the yard this season, so this isn't a stable firing on all cylinders. There's no momentum behind this run, no sense that everything has clicked into place behind the scenes. What there is, though, is a horse who has shown he can win — twice, at decent tracks — and who clearly still has enough in him to place. Whether that's enough at this point in his career is what racing is for.