Western Diego

The most striking number in his record is at Fairyhouse, where he has won 2 of just 4 races. Winning half your races at any track is remarkable — it suggests the course genuinely suits him, whether it is the way the bends fall, the ground he tends to find there, or simply the confidence of racing somewhere familiar. His most recent win came at Fairyhouse in January 2026, just four months ago, and he raced again just yesterday, so this is a horse still very much at work. Wet or muddy ground also brings out the best in him: 2 wins from 5 races on soft going, a 40% record that speaks for itself.

Brian Hayes has ridden him in 8 of his 16 races and won 2 of them — that is a win rate of 25%, or 1 in every 4 rides together. After the January win at Fairyhouse, assistant trainer David Casey described Hayes as someone who simply knows how to manage this horse's tendency to pull hard and race keenly. The horse had to be held together, came with one well-timed run, and did the job. As Casey put it, Western Diego is a keen-going sort who settles better for having had a race — and who, if he helps himself, will only improve over longer trips.

The yard behind him is Willie Mullins' operation in Co Carlow, one of the most powerful training setups in Ireland and Britain — 230 winners sent out this season alone. That context matters. A horse like Western Diego might not be the stable star, but Aubrey McMahon of Temple Bloodstock reportedly picked him up at a dispersal sale as what the trainer described as a potential bargain buy. The fact that he is still winning races and being considered for targets like the Grand Annual Chase at Cheltenham — one of the top two-mile chases of the season — suggests that assessment is looking well-founded. He is not done yet.