Walhaan

Trainer Ciaran Murphy, based in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, has been the key figure in unlocking what Walhaan can do. Murphy first talked about him back in 2021, noting that the horse had won twice in France for top trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, then gone quiet through a spell with Ian Williams — decent enough runs at Ascot, but no winner's enclosure. Murphy took him on believing the horse still had something to give, and over time he was proved right. When Walhaan finally won at Leopardstown in March 2023, Murphy was emphatic: they had spotted the opportunity, targeted the race, and the flat track and normal ground suited him perfectly. "He's really starting to get the hang of it," Murphy said afterwards. That is the kind of quote that tells you a trainer has genuinely worked something out.

The numbers since then confirm it. On normal ground, Walhaan wins 4 from 21 races — roughly 1 in every 5. At the distance of a mile and three to four furlongs, it is 4 wins from 16 — exactly 1 in 4, which is a seriously good conversion rate for a horse at this level. And then there is Dundalk, the all-weather track where he has won 4 times from 19 visits. For context, that is more than twice his win rate anywhere else. Dundalk suits him like a pair of old boots, and it was there that he recorded his most recent win in December 2025, just five months ago.

The honest picture right now is that Walhaan has not won in his last 6 races, and his recent form — a mixture of mid-field finishes and one second place — suggests he is working his way back towards his best. He raced just yesterday, so he is very much in the thick of it. Murphy's yard has sent out 18 winners this season, which shows the operation is firing, and with the right conditions — Dundalk, normal ground, the right trip — Walhaan has shown enough times that he can deliver.