San Andreas

The wider picture is honest rather than spectacular. An 11% win rate — roughly 1 in every 9 races — across a 47-race career puts San Andreas firmly in the solid, reliable bracket rather than the star-quality one. His trainer O'Brien said as much back in 2022, describing him as "very solid" and the kind of horse you would love a yard full of — meaning dependable, professional, always giving his effort. That is not faint praise. Plenty of horses are neither. Assistant trainer Brendan Powell echoed the sentiment after one Dundalk victory, calling him "a genuine horse" who runs genuine races. Jockey Wayne Hassett, after another win there, noted San Andreas went through the gears and still had plenty left at the line — suggesting a horse that, on his day, makes it look easy.

At his best distance of between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, he has won 1 from 4 races in that range — a 25% rate, or 1 in every 4. That is the sharpest version of San Andreas. When stepped up to the top level — Class 2 races, among the best races in Britain and Ireland — he has found that company a stretch, going without a win in three attempts.

He has not won in his last 6 races, and his most recent victory at Dundalk came in December 2024, now 16 months ago. The recent form figures show a mix of placed efforts and a couple of disappointing runs, which means he is not quite firing at his peak right now. But he raced just one day ago and is clearly still active and competing. O'Brien's yard has sent out 154 winners this season alone, so the operation around him is thriving. Whether San Andreas can find his way back to the Dundalk winner's enclosure one more time remains to be seen — but he has done it five times before.