The Blue Panther

His best racing is done between a mile and one furlong and a mile and two furlongs — a specific window that suits him well. Over those trips he has won 2 of 11 races, an 18% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 5 and a half races. That is double his overall average, which tells you the team at R P Burns's yard in Collinstown, Co Westmeath, know exactly how to place him. Burns has sent out five winners already this season, and The Blue Panther contributed to that tally with a win at Listowel as recently as September 2025 — just seven months ago. For a horse who only got off the mark for the first time at Gowran Park back in August 2022, that is a meaningful moment in a career that has taken its time to develop.

He raced just one day ago, so this is a horse very much in the thick of things. Gary Carroll has the most experience aboard him of any jockey, riding him eight times for one win — a 12% record that sits comfortably above his career average. The recent form reads 15-5-4-1-4-6, with that standout first-place finish in there, so there is genuine life in the performances. He is not a horse for the grandest occasions, but he is consistent, he is active, and he has a track where he genuinely turns up. Sometimes that is the most interesting thing a racehorse can offer.