Thegraveyardbookie

That sole career victory came at Limerick on 29 December 2023, now 29 months ago. Limerick in late December is a beloved fixture in the Irish racing calendar, so at least it picked a good occasion to shine. Since then, the win column has stayed stubbornly empty across six consecutive races, with the recent form figures of 11th, pulled up twice, and a couple of mid-field finishes painting a picture of a horse that is finding things tough at the moment.

Conor McNamara has been the regular pilot, riding Thegraveyardbookie in 7 of its 13 races and partnering it to that one win — a 14% win rate together, which works out at roughly 1 win in every 7 rides. That is actually a decent ratio by most standards; the problem is the opportunities to build on it have dried up. The horse is trained by E McNamara at Rathkeale in County Limerick, and the yard is clearly in decent health this season with 22 winners already sent out — so the infrastructure is there for a turnaround if the horse can find its form.

Raced just yesterday, Thegraveyardbookie is very much an active runner rather than one winding down. At seven, there is still time to add to that solitary win. Whether it does may depend on finding the right race on the right day — something this horse has managed once before, memorably, at Limerick.