Redwood Queen

The most striking number is what happens when Philip Byrnes climbs aboard. In nine races together, the pair have won five times — that is winning more than half their races as a partnership, a ratio that stands out sharply against Redwood Queen's overall record. That kind of chemistry between horse and rider is rare, and it tells you something real: this horse responds to a jockey who knows her. Normal conditions suit her too. On standard ground she has won 4 of her 14 races — nearly 1 in 3 — which is significantly better than her overall average and suggests she is at her best when the track is neither waterlogged nor baked dry.

At nine years old, Redwood Queen is not young, and the recent form is honest rather than exciting. In her last six races the best she has managed is a third and a second, with a couple of mid-field finishes in between. Her last win came at Killarney in July 2024, almost 22 months ago now, and she raced just yesterday — so she is still active and still competitive, just not quite finding the winning thread at the moment. Collins's yard is in decent shape this season with 20 winners sent out, so the platform is there if she can rediscover the spark.

Her career started at Cartmel in July 2022 — a famously tight, twisting track in the Lake District — and she has raced mostly at the level below the top tier of British racing since then. That context matters: this is a horse who has carved out a respectable career competing consistently, earning her place in a race week after week. The Killarney win last summer, on a track that attracts big summer crowds and a festive atmosphere, was the highlight so far. Whether she can add to that tally is the open question, but with Byrnes in the saddle on normal ground, the odds of it happening are considerably better than they might look on paper.