Solness

The other factor that unlocks this horse is the ground. When conditions are wet and muddy, Solness is transformed. He has won 5 of 9 races on soft ground — that's better than 1 in every 2 — and there is a reasonable argument that on a wet day at Leopardstown, he is as reliable as almost any horse at his level. His trainer Joseph O'Brien, who operates out of Owning Hill in Co Kilkenny and has sent out an extraordinary 154 winners this season alone, has spoken about Solness being "tough as nails" at the track, and that rings true when you look at the record.

His regular jockey J J Slevin has won 4 of their 13 races together, but it was Sam Ewing who partnered him for his most recent victory at Leopardstown on 27 December 2025, producing what Ewing described as a race where Solness was "as game as you get." The horse's jumping was praised specifically — a "very clever jumper" — which matters, because at the top level, technical mistakes cost races.

The one area where Solness has not yet cracked it is the very highest grade. He is 0 from 3 in Class 1 races, the elite tier of British competition. That is not necessarily a flaw — plenty of very good horses find one or two rivals just too good — and O'Brien has hinted that one prominent opponent, a horse called Majborough whose aggressive front-running style seemed to take the stuffing out of Solness at Leopardstown, is worth sidestepping where possible. A trip to Aintree was considered as an alternative to Cheltenham, and Slevin noted after that run that "when he's on his A game, Solness is a very good horse." The implication being that the very best may still be ahead of him, given the right day and the right conditions.