Rock Of Ireland

The win itself came at The Curragh on 28 March 2026, just five weeks ago, and it arrived over a distance between a mile and six furlongs and two miles — the kind of trip that suits a horse with stamina rather than raw speed. Over that range, Rock Of Ireland has won 1 from 10 races, a 10% win rate, which is meaningfully better than his overall record and strongly suggests this is where he belongs. When the yard find the right race at the right trip, he becomes a different proposition.

His recent form reads 4-6-2-1-8-7 going back six runs, and that sequence is more interesting than it first looks. The win sits right in the middle of it, sandwiched between a second on one side and a fourth on the other — a cluster of decent performances that shows he has been running well in this period. The two disappointing efforts either side of that run suggest he can be inconsistent, but the upward trend leading to the win was real.

Luke McAteer has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Rock Of Ireland in 11 of his 19 races for that 1 win together — a win rate of 9%, or roughly 1 in every 11 rides. That is a modest number, but the partnership has clearly been building toward something, and the Curragh win was the payoff. Trainer Rory Anthony Devine operates out of Bagnalstown in County Carlow, a smaller yard that has sent out 1 winner this season. In that context, Rock Of Ireland is the yard's flagship result right now, and keeping him in form over the weeks ahead will matter. He raced just yesterday, so he is clearly being kept busy — and on current evidence, trips back to The Curragh over a staying distance look like the plan worth backing.