THE Mark O’Hanlon Memorial Quiz is months away, but a good question for the 2026 version might be: which horse was the widest margin winner in an Irish group or listed flat race this season?

The surprising answer - final four weeks of the season pending - is Carla Ridge, a 10-length winner of the Listed Brigid’s Pastures Stakes last Saturday.

Of the 116 races run this season, there have only been six winners of five lengths or more - Goodie Two Shoes, True Love, Al Riffa, North Coast and Benvenuto Cellini the others - but nothing came close to the distance Carla Ridge won by.

She was the only filly in the field rated higher than 100, and the soft to heavy ground exaggerated margins, but even so it was an excellent performance where things went right unlike her two previous runs.

She had hit ridges two starts back at Naas before meeting significant trouble in the Bold Lad, like many others, and she is one for the Hartys to look forward to next year.

The other race to note on the card was the seven-furlong maiden for juvenile fillies. The Hartys had one of the favourites, Killashee Warrior, withdrawn on account of the ground but even so this looked a decent race; 13 ran and six of them have Irish 1000 Guineas entries.

Comfortable winner

Cameo was a comfortable winner, making all, and her experience was a help. She had two previous runs whereas most of the field were first time out, and the three debutantes that chased her home all went with promise.

Her stablemate, and runner-up, Together Now is well-bred even by Ballydoyle standards being a half-sister to City Of Troy and looks ripe for a step up in trip already. Having raced on the far wing, she got outpaced two furlongs out but rallied well late.

The third Sinmara travelled strongly and went with the race-fit winner as much as any, seven furlongs looking ideal for her now, but the fourth Thundering On might be most interesting of all.

She raced furthest back of the first four and had nothing to bring her into the race from the rear of mid-division but still managed to make a good move in furlongs five and six before sustaining it in the final furlong.

By Frankel out of Thundering Nights, she is another with a fine pedigree.

GRADED National Hunt races at this stage of the year can be more end than beginning, confirming the best summer jumpers rather than offering form that can be carried through the winter, and that looks to have been the case with the PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park last Saturday won by Western Fold.

This was a fourth win on the spin for Western Fold, including a Mayo National and a Galway Plate, and he is a most likeable type; as in previous starts, he tracked the pace and jumped well.

Gordon Elliott mentioned concerns about the ground beforehand, so he would want things to dry out to be competitive in graded races in the coming months though his experience and lofty rating (157 currently) could put him in the mix for the Drinmore, his novice status still intact as his first chase win came in May.

The runner-up Affordale Fury also shaped well in the face of three disadvantages.

He was returning from a 241-day absence whereas most of his rivals were hard fit, he had to come from rear off a steady pace while he also made his challenge down what looked the unfavoured inner.

Playing catch-up

He only had three chase starts during his first two seasons over fences and looks to be playing catch-up with his jumping as he was inclined to make slight errors on his fourth chase outing here but if he can improve in that area, there is a decent race in him with soft ground holding no fears.

Another Drinmore possible to run on the card could be Taponthego who took the closing beginners’ chase.

Time comparisons show him in a good light relative to Western Fold as he covered the distance from the first fence to the line 5.4 seconds faster than that rival while carrying 9lb more.

The keen Where’s My Jet put pace to this race before falling at the fifth and the others maintained it while this race looked stronger than it has been in recent years, likely due to the softer ground.

The average field size over the past five years was six runners, but there were 11 this time and while only two counted in the end, they were rated 134 and 139 over hurdles.

Found for pressure

Taponthego did not travel as well as the runner-up Fleur In The Park, but he found more for pressure and was slightly better at his fences and his being out early is a positive as he could get another run in before the Drinmore. This contrasts with his 2024/25 season where there seemed to be a rush on to get qualified for the Martin Pipe.

Regarding Fleur In The Park, I am still of the view that he is worth trying over two miles with how he travels, for all that he was placed over three miles in a novice hurdle at Punchestown.

IRISH-trained horses enjoyed a fine Arc weekend with 22 runners producing four winners and seven more top four finishes. It wasn’t quite as good as the five winners last year but was a long way ahead of totals of two and one in 2023 and 2022 respectively.

Minnie Hauk went close in the Arc but as Christophe Soumillon said afterwards, there were no excuses, and aside from that, the highlight for Irish horses was a 1-3-4 in the Opera.

Barnavara made all under a good ride from Shane Foley in what was a finish of short heads and necks, and the likes of One Look, Wemightakedlongway and Grand Stars could have came out on top on another day.

This Group 1 winner was a welcome change of fortune for the Harrington yard who have had a poor 2025. At the time of writing, they have had 36 flat winners in Ireland and Britain this calendar year, their lowest since 22 winners back in 2016 but Barnavara has been a shining light.

Starting the season rated 89, she has been well-trained to win four times, progressing through the ranks from listed to Group 1 races, and a short mid-season break improving her a lot.

Harder to see

Another fine piece of training came with Aidan O’Brien and Puerto Rico, the Lagardere winner. His other Group 1 juvenile winner, Diamond Necklace, had been expected to win the Marcel Boussac, but Puerto Rico was harder to see even with a relatively short starting price.

He looked to be going the wrong way temperamentally in a couple of runs up the Curragh in mid-summer but a recent step up to seven furlongs has seen him turn a corner.

He didn’t just win this race, he won it easily, and even in a weak division with a few of the Ballydoyle big guns on the sideline, it was an excellent training performance.