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Formscan By John O'Riordan - EXCELLENT BELIEVE(8) can register a deserved first success since joining trainer Stephen Thorne. Unlucky in running at Leopardstown and over this track and trip, the gelding was well fancied for the Balmoral at Ascot on British Champions Day. Drawn on what turned out to be the wrong side of the track, the four-year-old easily 'won' his race on the far side but could only finish mid-division overall. A maiden winner over 6f here, Valentino Eclipse could prove well suited by stepping back up in trip. Unique Journey is also worthy of serious consideration, despite having yet to win over this distance.
Dragon Pulse (IRE)-Shraayef(Nayef)
ts+bl+(14)
d6
(Gzira Syndicate)
Rated 88
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 67 | 9 | 13 | -20.75 |
| UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.00 |
18th Oct 26 Leopardstown(1m 100yds Flat Hcap, Good, yielding for last 4f) Rated 88 28/1 9-7 J Pietropaolo (7) 7th of 16 runners, 3.72L behind Highbury See See
22nd Sep 26 Listowel(7f 15yds Flat Hcap, Yielding) Rated 73 10/3Fav 9-10 J Pietropaolo (7) 1st of 11 runners, by 1.25L and 1.75L from La La Lucrative and Apache Outlaw
21st Sep 26 Listowel(1m 1f Flat Hcap, Yielding, yielding to soft in places CHANGED to Yielding after 6th race.) Rated 73 5/1 9-1 J Pietropaolo (7) 1st of 13 runners, by hd and 0.75L from Iamimmaculate and Great Mover
Quotes on Dragon Of Malta (IRE)
That is five wins at this festival which is an incredible record. To see the myriad of people here today is lovely and, win, lose or draw, we'll be back here again next year. Down south, this meeting is our Cheltenham. I joked with my daughter Sylvia that if he won again today, that Listowel would have to name a race after him, but she replied, 'no, it'll have to be a bar!'. This is wonderful stuff and he is a real horses for courses. It is quite incredible and, while the strict form lads say he needs heavy-heavy-heavy, jockey Shane Foley told us yesterday that it was just the track which suits him. We initially hit on Julian to claim 7lb last September, and he definitely gets his fractions right anyway. He knew how the race would pan out and had his homework done. The horse will have an easy week now and it is just a lovely story.
After Dragon Of Malta (IRE) finished 1st at Listowel on Tue, 22nd Sep 2026 7f Flat Hcap Yielding
Night Of Thunder (IRE)-Hazmiyra(Pivotal)
cp1(14)
cd1
(Exors of the Late H H Aga Khan)
Rated 100
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7.00 |
18th Oct 26 Leopardstown(1m 2f Flat, Good, yielding for last 4f) Rated 103 8/1 9-7 C D Hayes 5th of 9 runners, 9.5L behind Come What May
31st Aug 26 Roscommon(1m 2f 63yds Flat, Yielding, good to yielding in places (Good to Yielding after R3)) Rated 103 1/1Fav 9-10 C D Hayes 1st of 5 runners, by 0.5L and 0.5L from God Of Power and Dial Me In
7th Jun 26 Navan(1m 1f Flat, Good, changed to Good, Good to Yielding in places after R1) Rated 103 10/1 9-9 C D Hayes 7th of 10 runners, 3.53L behind Isaac Newton
Quotes on Hazdann (IRE)
It’s lovely to have him back in the winners’ enclosure again, he’s a grand horse and we’re all very fond of him,. It was a bit of a messy race but he’s done it well in the end. We’ll go back into stakes company with him next. A little more ease in the ground will be beneficial to him as well.
After Hazdann (IRE) finished 1st at Roscommon on Mon, 31st Aug 2026 1m 2f Flat Yielding
Acclamation (GB)-Allegation(Lawman)
(14)
cd1
(Mrs Patrick J Flynn)
Rated 95
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 7 | 3 | 2 | 26.50 |
| UK | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12.00 |
18th Oct 26 Leopardstown(1m 100yds Flat, Good, yielding for last 4f) Rated 95 40/1 9-9 J A Heffernan 6th of 7 runners, 9.75L behind King Cuan
10th Oct 26 Naas(7f Flat Hcap, Soft) Rated 93 14/1 9-9 A C Persse (5) 2nd of 10 runners, 0.5L behind Storm Ready
14th Jun 26 Cork(7f Flat Hcap, Good) Rated 95 12/1 8-13 A C Persse (5) 13th of 15 runners, 6.75L behind Gleneagle Bay
Quotes on Key Witness (IRE)
the story is now well known about me buying this horse at the sales, as while there were about 500 horses there, this fella walked by and I said to my wife Catherine that ‘that is a racehorse’. He was also by Acclamation so I bought him. I might look for a race at Royal Ascot now and I think he is a seven-furlongs horse so will look at the Buckingham Palace Stakes. I thought the mile was too long for him the last day, so at Ascot it would definitely be too long. It would appear he needs easy ground at the moment so fast ground at Ascot would be a concern but we’ll see, and if anyone wants a runner at Royal Ascot, they can find my number. If you wouldn’t buy this horse, what would they buy!
After Key Witness (IRE) finished 1st at Cork on Sun, 3rd May 2026 7f Flat Hcap Soft to Heavy
In the last 3 years Key Witness (IRE) has met
| Horse | No. Of times | |
| Storm Ready (IRE) | 1 | |
| 10th Oct 2026 Naas(7f , Flat Hcap, Soft) Storm Ready (IRE) 1st (7/2J Fav 9-1 Rated 82) S Foley .50L in front of Key Witness (IRE) 2nd (14/1 9-9 Rated 93) A C Persse (10 ran) | ||
 | ||
Caravaggio (USA)-Surround(Iffraaj)
cp+(17)
c3
(Dalzell/morgan/kirwan/murphy)
Rated 103
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 19 | 4 | 5 | 5.33 |
15th Oct 26 Curragh(6f Flat Hcap, Straight - soft, round course - yielding to soft) Rated 94 15/2 9-7 T Casey (7) 1st of 13 runners, by 4L and nk from Smoke Them Out and Moltophino
26th Sep 26 Curragh(7f Flat Hcap, Round - Good to Yielding. Straight - Yielding) Rated 95 7/1 9-10 B M Coen 8th of 10 runners, 7L behind Uncle Goalie
13th Sep 26 Curragh(6f Flat Hcap, Straight: Yielding, good in places. Round: Good, yielding in places) Rated 95 12/1 9-4 B M Coen 7th of 24 runners, 3.97L behind Coul Angel
In the last 3 years Unique Journey (IRE) has met
| Horse | No. Of times | |
| Rion Rubette (GB) | 1 | |
| 28th Apr 2025 Naas(5f 205yds, Flat Hcap, Good to Yielding, Yielding in places (Straight); Yielding, Good to Yielding in places (Round)) Unique Journey (IRE) 1st (7/2J Fav 9-6 Rated 74) C T Keane 12.87L in front of Rion Rubette (GB) 8th (11/1 9-0 Rated 73) W Joyce (17 ran) | ||
| ||
| Excellent Believe (GB) | 1 | |
| 26th Sep 2026 Curragh(7f , Flat Hcap, Round - Good to Yielding. Straight - Yielding) Excellent Believe (GB) 3rd (2/1Fav 10-0 Rated 99) C T Keane 5.50L in front of Unique Journey (IRE) 8th (7/1 9-10 Rated 95) B M Coen (10 ran) | ||
| ||
Kingman (GB)-Ship Of Dreams(Lope De Vega)
(162)
d1
(Michael Hilary Burke)
Rated 94
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 5 | 1 | 2 | -3.38 |
23rd May 26 Curragh(1m Flat, Good (good to yielding in places on Round)) Rated 98 25/1 9-2 Dylan Browne McMonagle 9th of 9 runners, 13.38L behind Gstaad
22nd Apr 26 Gowran Park(7f Flat Maiden, Soft, yielding in places) Rated 98 8/13Fav 9-8 J M Sheridan 1st of 7 runners, by 4L and shd from Solana Beach and Sindagan
21st Oct 25 Curragh(6f Flat Maiden, Heavy, soft to heavy in places) 6/4JFav 9-7 Dylan Browne McMonagle 2nd of 11 runners, 1.5L behind Trojan Warrior
Night Of Thunder (IRE)-Yellow Rosebud(Jeremy)
(22)
d1
(J Kirkland)
Rated 87
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.25 |
10th Oct 26 Naas(7f Flat Hcap, Soft) Rated 82 7/2JFav 9-1 S Foley 1st of 10 runners, by 0.5L and 1.25L from Key Witness and Back Down Under
21st Sep 26 Listowel(1m Flat Maiden, Yielding, yielding to soft in places CHANGED to Yielding after 6th race.) 11/4Fav 9-8 S Foley 1st of 14 runners, by nk and 1.75L from Zelani and Noble Irish
Quotes on Storm Ready (IRE)
He’s still learning. He’s a nice horse and he’s just learning all the time. Shane thought he was going to win easily, but he just pricked his ears. You love to see that, which is great. I presume we’ll go back to a mile. We’ll have a look and see. He might have one more run before the end of the year. He has a great attitude and a great mind, everything. He relaxed there, and he learnt a lot in Listowel. He had to, as he had a wide draw and had to get bustled around. He just does things easily enough, so I’m delighted with him.
After Storm Ready (IRE) finished 1st at Naas on Sat, 10th Oct 2026 7f Flat Hcap Soft
In the last 3 years Storm Ready (IRE) has met
| Horse | No. Of times | |
| Key Witness (IRE) | 1 | |
| 10th Oct 2026 Naas(7f , Flat Hcap, Soft) Storm Ready (IRE) 1st (7/2J Fav 9-1 Rated 82) S Foley .50L in front of Key Witness (IRE) 2nd (14/1 9-9 Rated 93) A C Persse (10 ran) | ||
| ||
Gleneagles (IRE)-Emirate Jewel(Pivotal)
(35)
c1
(Iman Hartono)
Rated 86
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 3 | 1 | 1 | -1.60 |
27th Sep 26 Curragh(6f Flat Maiden, Heavy) 2/5Fav 9-8 J A Heffernan 1st of 11 runners, by 3.75L and 2L from Port Arthur and A Good Yarn
26th Jun 26 Curragh(1m Flat Maiden, Good on straight course, good/firm, good in places on round course.) 9/2 9-8 J A Heffernan 4th of 13 runners, 2.25L behind Loughrea
10th May 26 Leopardstown(7f Flat Maiden, Good) 9/4 9-8 J A Heffernan 2nd of 9 runners, nk behind Halon Bay
Quotes on Valentino Eclipse (IRE)
He did that well. He's a horse we've always liked. He probably didn't quite get the mile here the last day and is probably a six or seven-furlong horse. He is a horse that could turn into something. He probably needs a little bit of ease underfoot. I had a couple of good horses out of the family before, this fella could turn out to be the best of them. They were all kind of 90 plus horses.
After Valentino Eclipse (IRE) finished 1st at Curragh on Sun, 27th Sep 2026 6f Flat Maiden Heavy
Make Believe (GB)-Lambeth Walk(Charm Spirit)
(15)
d2
(Shamrock Thoroughbreds)
Rated 100
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 3 | 0 | 2 | -3.00 |
| UK | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1.28 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 1 |
17th Oct 26 Ascot(1m Flat Hcap, Good) Rated 99 9/1 9-1 C T Keane 10th of 20 runners, 4.26L behind Fifth Column
26th Sep 26 Curragh(7f Flat Hcap, Round - Good to Yielding. Straight - Yielding) Rated 99 2/1Fav 1 C T Keane 3rd of 10 runners, nk and 1.25L behind Uncle Goalie and Eddie G
12th Sep 26 Leopardstown(7f Flat Hcap, Good) Rated 99 15/2 9-12 Oisin Murphy 7th of 17 runners, 2.07L behind Krasimir
In the last 3 years Excellent Believe (GB) has met
| Horse | No. Of times | |
| Unique Journey (IRE) | 1 | |
| 26th Sep 2026 Curragh(7f , Flat Hcap, Round - Good to Yielding. Straight - Yielding) Excellent Believe (GB) 3rd (2/1Fav 10-0 Rated 99) C T Keane 5.50L in front of Unique Journey (IRE) 8th (7/1 9-10 Rated 95) B M Coen (10 ran) | ||
| ||
New Bay (GB)-Citronella(New Approach)
hd2(21)
d3
(Bredwinner Syndicate)
Rated 92
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 23 | 3 | 5 | 6.50 |
11th Oct 26 Naas(1m Flat, Soft) Rated 88 80/1 9-5 P A Harnett 5th of 16 runners, 4.06L behind Princess Child
19th Sep 26 Gowran Park(7f Flat, Yielding to soft, soft in places) Rated 88 3/1 9-5 P A Harnett (3) 6th of 8 runners, 9.53L behind Greydreambeliever
21st Aug 26 Killarney(1m 30yds Flat, Good) Rated 91 25/1 9-4 P A Harnett 8th of 10 runners, 5.88L behind Jagged Edge
Quotes on Rion Rubette (GB)
She did it lovely. I was a bit worried if she was going to get there, but she ground it out real well and she knew where the line was. . She seems to really be getting a liking for Gowran. It's not that far away from us, so I'd say that's a big help to her. She's tricky enough when travelling and at the races. . Hopefully, if she is all right in the morning, she is entered in the Curragh Derby weekend in the fillies' handicap on the Saturday evening - if she's okay, touch wood she goes there.
After Rion Rubette (GB) finished 1st at Gowran Park on Fri, 12th Jun 2026 7f Flat Hcap Yielding
In the last 3 years Rion Rubette (GB) has met
| Horse | No. Of times | |
| Unique Journey (IRE) | 1 | |
| 28th Apr 2025 Naas(5f 205yds, Flat Hcap, Good to Yielding, Yielding in places (Straight); Yielding, Good to Yielding in places (Round)) Unique Journey (IRE) 1st (7/2J Fav 9-6 Rated 74) C T Keane 12.87L in front of Rion Rubette (GB) 8th (11/1 9-0 Rated 73) W Joyce (17 ran) | ||
| ||
Lucky Vega (IRE)-Polar Sea(Pivotal)
(22)
(Dreamers Alliance Syndicate)
Rated 75
| Flat Statistics | Runs | Wins | Places | €Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE | 4 | 0 | 4 | -4.00 |
10th Oct 26 Naas(1m Flat Maiden, Soft) Rated 75 3/1 8-12 Reese Holohan (5) 2nd of 13 runners, 0.75L behind Zelani
1st Oct 26 Bellewstown(7f 195yds Flat Maiden, Soft to Heavy) Rated 77 11/10 8-12 Reese Holohan (5) 3rd of 5 runners, 2.5L and 1.75L behind White Sand Beach and Xirivella
1st Sep 26 Gowran Park(1m Flat, Yielding, soft in places) 9/2 9-11 N M Crosse 2nd of 8 runners, 0.5L behind Quinta Girl
Symbols Explained
ts2 Tongue Strap vs2 Visor hd2 Hood es2 Eye Shield ec2 Eye Cover cp2 Cheekpiece bl2 Blinkers tt2 Tongue Tie cd2 Course and Distance Winner c2 Course Winner d2 Distance Winner bf Beaten Favourite on Last Run
The superscript number on headgear bl2 indicates number of times worn. A plus bl+ indicates more than 10 times where as red background bl1indicates first time.
