Rising Sky

What makes that Dundalk win particularly worth noting is that it came at the same track where Rising Sky has now found form most recently. The latest run was just yesterday, and with a second place in the last six races alongside that win, there are signs that something may be clicking at the right time. The recent sequence of 8-1-7-7-4-6 is mixed — two genuinely encouraging efforts bookended by some disappointing finishes — but the second place and the win are recent enough to suggest this is a horse currently finding its feet rather than one fading away.

Luke McAteer has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Rising Sky in 7 of those 15 races without managing to get on the scoresheet together. That is not unusual for a horse still learning its trade, and the partnership clearly stayed together long enough to eventually land that Dundalk victory. Trainer Anthony McCann operates out of Castleblaney in County Monaghan and has sent out 7 winners already this season, which suggests a yard in decent form. When a smaller yard is firing, even a horse with modest overall figures can find itself in the right place at the right time — and Rising Sky's recent record hints that might be exactly where things stand right now.