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Horse profile

Darkest Hour (IRE)

5yo gelding (at last run, Oct 2022) · Last trainer Mark Michael McNiff · Last owner L M Syndicate
22 runs · 12 courses · from May 2019
As at 27 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: GB, Ireland & France · 2005–present, updated daily
No run recorded since 7 Oct 2022 — 1,481 days ago. Our archive can't say whether the horse is still in training.
Last run Oct 2022 · 7th of 14 Last raced off OR 91
KTB Profile

Darkest Hour (IRE) is yet to win from 22 starts, though has placed 5 times. Best effort: 2nd of 15 at Downpatrick (Sep 2022).

Based on 22 archived runs · updated 27 Oct 2026
Official rating91↓ 4lb off peak
91 41–95

KTB Speed and Rating

KTB Speed

Best recent Speed 105 the best of the last 3 graded (A or B) runs · Downpatrick, 29 Aug 2022

How fast the horse ran, as points against the day-corrected standard time for its course and distance: 100 is the median GB Class 4 handicap winner on that code; one point is 0.1% of the standard time. A, B or C is how much the day's card could tell us, not how good the run was. What this means →

Jumps 12 figures · best 105B · median 79
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
Good5105B86—
Good to Soft488B77.5—
Soft393C79—
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
2m1f – 2m4f7105B86—
1m5f – 2m590B39—
Flat 10 figures · best 95B · median 75
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
Standard (AW)595B91—
Good to Soft387C70—
Good1———
Soft1———
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
1m – 1m1f795B80—
1m2f – 1m4f287C68.5—
6f – 7f1———

KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 22 figures from 22 runs · as at 3 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

KTB Rating

Best recent KTB Rating (jumps) 109A the best of the last 3 rated runs · Downpatrick, 16 Sep 2022 Official rating 91 at the last jumps run, 7 Oct 2022

Best recent KTB Rating (flat) 57C the best of the last 3 rated runs · Sligo, 17 May 2022 Official rating 41 at the last flat run, 17 May 2022

What the horse achieved in each race, in pounds on the official-rating scale, from the weight carried, the lengths beaten and the race's own level solved across the archive — never the market, never the official rating as a starting point. The headline is the best of the horse's last three rated runs on that code. A, B or C on a run is how much known form was in that race. What this means →

Jumps 12 figures · best 109A · median 100
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
Good5107A101—
Good to Soft4109A105—
Soft399A87—
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
2m1f – 2m4f7109A102—
1m5f – 2m5101A87—
Flat 10 figures · best 70A · median 44
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
Standard (AW)570A45—
Good to Soft357C50—
Good1———
Soft1———
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 27 Oct 2025
1m – 1m1f770A39—
1m2f – 1m4f257C50—
6f – 7f1———

KTB Rating v1 · batch 3 Oct 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 22 figures from 22 runs · as at 4 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

Both figures are KTB's own, computed from the archive; no vendor rating enters either. Every run's figure is on its form line below with its grade. Grades measure how much the archive could see, never the merit of the run.

Run style is derived from in-running commentary, which our data provider does not supply for this horse's races.

Pedigree intelligence

Sire

Progeny in our archive have won 10.6% of 11,632 runs since Jan 2008 (842 horses).

GoingRunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Firm2328.7%−1.9—
Good to Firm1,34515611.6%+1—
Good2,97434511.6%+10 from 6
Good to Soft1,53216610.8%+0.20 from 7
Soft1,9671829.3%−1.30 from 4
Heavy6607010.6%0—
Standard (AW)3,1303109.9%−0.70 from 5
Distance (all codes)RunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Under 6f5459.3%−1.3—
6f – 7f1,3841198.6%−20 from 1
1m – 1m1f2,3322179.3%−1.30 from 7
1m2f – 1m4f3,81543811.5%+0.90 from 2
1m5f – 2m2,58628511%+0.40 from 5
2m1f – 2m4f1,08711410.5%−0.10 from 7
2m5f – 3m3264413.5%+2.9—
Over 3m48918.8%+8.2—

Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 27 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast

Dam
The Shrew (GB) (Dansili)

8 siblings in the archive, 4 winners — best of them Jm Jungle (IRE) (7 wins).

The wins came over 5f–1m½f; the highest grade won is Group 2 (Jm Jungle (IRE)).

ProduceRunsWinsWin tripsBest grade
Jm Jungle (IRE)4475f–5½fGroup 2
Lila Girl (IRE)737fClass 4
Petruchio (IRE)311m½fClass 5
Caitie (IRE)1616fClass 5
Playwriter (IRE)20——
Corrida De Toros (IRE)170——
Wonderful Friend (IRE)70——
Cherryblossom Time (IRE)80——

Record by conditions

GoingRunsWinsSR£1
Good to Soft 7 0 0% −7.00
Good 6 0 0% −6.00
Standard (AW) 5 0 0% −5.00
Soft 4 0 0% −4.00

CourseRunsWinsSR£1
Downpatrick 6 0 0% −6.00
Dundalk (AW) 5 0 0% −5.00
Tramore 2 0 0% −2.00
Sligo 1 0 0% −1.00
Clonmel 1 0 0% −1.00
Thurles 1 0 0% −1.00
Roscommon 1 0 0% −1.00
Galway 1 0 0% −1.00
Bellewstown 1 0 0% −1.00
Gowran Park 1 0 0% −1.00
Tipperary 1 0 0% −1.00
Leopardstown 1 0 0% −1.00

DistanceRunsWinsSR£1
2m1f – 2m4f 7 0 0% −7.00
1m – 1m1f 7 0 0% −7.00
1m5f – 2m 5 0 0% −5.00
1m2f – 1m4f 2 0 0% −2.00
6f – 7f 1 0 0% −1.00

JockeyRunsWinsSR£1
Cathal Landers 6 0 0% −6.00
Phillip Enright 3 0 0% −3.00
Mia Kavanagh 3 0 0% −3.00
Mark Enright 3 0 0% −3.00
Mr O McGill 2 0 0% −2.00
Alan King 1 0 0% −1.00
Cian MacRedmond 1 0 0% −1.00
Dylan Browne McMonagle 1 0 0% −1.00
Wayne Lordan 1 0 0% −1.00
Danny Sheehy 1 0 0% −1.00

HeadgearRunsWinsSR£1
Tongue tie 8 0 0% −8.00
None 8 0 0% −8.00
Cheekpieces 5 0 0% −5.00
Blinkers 1 0 0% −1.00

SeasonRunsWinsSR£1
2022 8 0 0% −8.00
2021 10 0 0% −10.00
2020 3 0 0% −3.00
2019 1 0 0% −1.00

TypeRunsWinsSR£1
Hurdle 12 0 0% −12.00
Flat 10 0 0% −10.00

Splits include every sample, however small — muted rows are under 3 runs. A one-from-one record is a fact, not a trend: read the Runs column before the strike rate.

Form

DateCourseRace PosBtn Wgt ORSpdKTB Jockey SP
2022 · 8 runs
07 Oct 22+21d Downpatrick Roadstud Installations Handicap Hurdle (80-102) 18f · Yielding · 14 ran 7/14 5½ 10-11 9193C81C Mr O McGill 5/1
16 Sep 22+18d Downpatrick M B McGrady & Co. Accountants Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 18f · Good To Yielding · 15 ran 2/15 ¾ 11-1 8888B109A Mr O McGill 7/1
29 Aug 22+22d Downpatrick Kingdom Healthcare Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 19f · Good · 15 ran 3/15 4 11-8 88105B107A Cathal Landers 6/1
07 Aug 22+25d Downpatrick Speckled Hen Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 19f · Good To Yielding · 15 ran 2/15 2¾ 11-8 8676B108A Phillip Enright 17/2
13 Jul 22+31d Downpatrick North Down Marquees Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 19f · Good · 15 ran 6/15 4 11-7 8786B101A Phillip Enright 8/1
12 Jun 22+8d Downpatrick Dunlop Homes Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 17.5f · Good To Yielding · 12 ran 3/12 7½ 10-13 8779B102A Alan King 40/1
04 Jun 22+18d Tramore Comeragh Wildlife Park Handicap Hurdle (80-95) 17f · Yielding · 13 ran 7/13 4¼ 11-9 9079B99A Phillip Enright 25/1
17 May 22+166d Sligo Hazel Wood Maiden 10.5f · Good To Yielding · 10 ran 7/10 1¾ 9-4 4187C57C Cian MacRedmond 100/1
2021 · 10 runs
02 Dec 21+14d Clonmel Powerstown Handicap Hurdle (80-102) 16f · Yielding To Soft · 16 ran 15/16 4½ 11-5 9326C87C Cathal Landers 66/1
18 Nov 21+52d Thurles Holycross Handicap Hurdle (80-102) 16f · Good To Yielding · 16 ran 15/16 21 11-7 9539C86C Cathal Landers 66/1
27 Sep 21+21d Roscommon Boyle Maiden Hurdle 15.5f · Good · 17 ran 14/17 43 11-9 —26C77C Cathal Landers 66/1
06 Sep 21+25d Galway Kenny Developments Maiden Hurdle 16.5f · Good · 19 ran 7/19 6 11-12 —90B92A Cathal Landers 12/1
12 Aug 21+42d Tramore Victoria House Maiden Hurdle 16f · Good · 15 ran 5/15 ½ 11-1 —53B101A Cathal Landers 66/1
01 Jul 21+57d Bellewstown www.ratoathvets.ie Handicap (45-65) 8f · Good · 14 ran 11/14 1¾ 8-0 4580C31A Mia Kavanagh 50/1
05 May 21+40d Gowran Park Gowran Park Handicap (45-65) (Div 2) 8f · Yielding · 16 ran 12/16 3¼ 8-7 5047C37A Mia Kavanagh 18/1
26 Mar 21+35d Dundalk (AW) Join Us On Instagram At dundalk_stadium Apprentice Handicap (45-65) 8f · Standard · 14 ran 9/14 ¾ 9-3 5091B45A Dylan Browne McMonagle 10/3
19 Feb 21+28d Dundalk (AW) HOLLYWOODBETS HORSE RACING AND SPORTS BETTING Handicap (45-65) (Div 2) 8f · Standard · 13 ran 2/13 ¾ 9-1 4994B70A Mark Enright 9/2
22 Jan 21+217d Dundalk (AW) Follow Us On Twitter At dundalkstadium Handicap (45-65) (Div 2) 8f · Standard · 14 ran 6/14 ½ 8-4 4995B57A Mia Kavanagh 80/1
2020 · 3 runs
19 Jun 20+91d Tipperary Thank You To All Frontline Workers From Tipperary Racecourse Handicap (45-70) (Div 2) 9f · Good To Yielding · 13 ran 13/13 1¾ 8-6 5570C33A Wayne Lordan 50/1
20 Mar 20+14d Dundalk (AW) View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Maiden (Plus 10) 10.5f · Standard · 10 ran 9/10 4¾ 9-7 —50C43C Mark Enright 150/1
06 Mar 20+294d Dundalk (AW) Willie Buckley Memorial Maiden (Plus 10) 8f · Standard · 14 ran 13/14 3½ 9-5 —51C39C Mark Enright 33/1
2019 · 1 run
17 May 19 Leopardstown Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden 7f · Good To Yielding · 11 ran 9/11 1¾ 9-0 —51A50A Danny Sheehy 50/1

Quick answers

How many races has Darkest Hour won?
Darkest Hour (IRE) has yet to win, from 22 archived starts between 2019 and 2022. Placed 5 times in total (22.7% of starts).
Who trained Darkest Hour?
Darkest Hour (IRE) was trained by Mark Michael McNiff on the most recent run on record, at Downpatrick on 7 October 2022.
Who is Darkest Hour's sire?
Darkest Hour (IRE) is by Mastercraftsman (IRE) out of The Shrew (GB), whose sire is Dansili.
What is Darkest Hour's official rating?
The most recent official rating on record is 91, from the run on 7 October 2022. The highest on record is 95.
What is Darkest Hour's sire's record?
Mastercraftsman (IRE)'s progeny in our archive have won 10.6% of 11,632 runs since Jan 2008 (842 horses), Flat and jumps together.
Who are Darkest Hour's siblings?
Out of The Shrew (GB), Darkest Hour (IRE) has 8 other produce in our archive, 4 of them winners. Most wins: Jm Jungle (IRE) (7). Highest grade won: Group 2 (Jm Jungle (IRE)). The wins came over 5f–1m½f. As at Oct 2026.

Record shown from May 2019. Our archive holds racing in Great Britain, Ireland and France from January 2005. Runs in other countries are not in it, and earlier runs are not available from our data provider. In-running comments are available from 2024 onward.