Tynamite

Both of those wins have come at Dundalk, which makes the track something of a spiritual home. Winning twice from 31 races there works out at about 1 in every 15 trips — modest on paper, but when you consider that Dundalk is the only place this horse has ever found the winner's enclosure, it's clearly where everything clicks. The all-weather surface, the tight turns, the night racing atmosphere — something about Dundalk suits Tynamite in a way nowhere else has managed. The most recent win came there in December 2023, so the clock has been ticking for 29 months now without another, but the track keeps getting revisited, and with good reason.

The sweet spot in terms of trip is 7 furlongs to a mile, where Tynamite has won 2 from 17 — roughly 1 in 9 — which is a noticeably better return than anywhere else in the record. Both wins have also come on normal ground, going 2 from 31 in those conditions. That combination of Dundalk, standard conditions, and a distance around the mile mark is as close to a formula as this horse has.

David Marnane trains out of Bansha in County Tipperary, and his yard has been in decent form this season with 16 winners on the board. Regular partner Luke McAteer has ridden Tynamite in 11 of its races, winning once together — 1 in 11, or about 9% — which is actually a better personal return than the overall career average. The recent run of form reads 10-7-8-7-14-3, so no win in the last six outings, but a third-place finish is in there, and the horse raced just yesterday, which suggests the yard are actively searching for the right opportunity rather than winding things down.

At 12 years old, every race feels like it could be among the last. But Tynamite keeps showing up, and at Dundalk especially, it would be unwise to completely write off a horse that has done all its best work there.