First Approach (IRE)
First Approach won two of ten starts. Both wins came at Naas, one in a maiden over under 6f on good in May 2025 and the latest in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Birdcatcher Premier Nursery Handicap over 6f – 7f on soft in Oct 2025 when he carried an official rating of 85 and led from a prominent position. The colt by No Nay Never out of an Alphabet mare has five places from his ten runs and has raced on turf and all-weather. His last run at Naas in Oct 2025 was a win.
- 2–10Wins / Runs
- 20%Strike rate
- 5 (50%)Placed
- +0.50£1 level staken=10 at SP
- 1.63Fair A/E n=10 · 1.39 incl. margin
- 91Highest OR
- 20dAvg between runs
A/E compares actual wins with what starting prices implied. "Fair" strips the bookmaker margin from the expectation, so favourites and longshots are judged on the same footing — figures near 1.00 mean the market priced this horse about right.
KTB Speed and Rating
Best recent Speed 95
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 →
| Going | Runs | Best | Median | Since 18 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 4 | 109C | 70.5 | — |
| Good to Firm | 2 | 92A | 75.5 | — |
| Standard (AW) | 2 | 95A | 84.5 | — |
| Soft | 1 | — | — | — |
| Good to Soft | 1 | — | — | — |
| Distance | Runs | Best | Median | Since 18 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6f – 7f | 5 | 101C | 76 | — |
| Under 6f | 5 | 109C | 74 | — |
KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 10 figures from 10 runs · as at 3 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 from 4 analysed runs
- Midfield 2 (50%) · 0 wins
- Prominent 1 (25%) · 1 win
- Held up 1 (25%) · 1 win
Pedigree intelligence
Progeny in our archive have won 12.1% of 6,297 runs since Jan 2008 (703 horses).
Weakest on good to soft going: 9% from 609. Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 7.6% from 184.
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | 16 | 5 | 31.3% | +19.2 | — |
| Good to Firm | 927 | 122 | 13.2% | +1.1 | 0 from 2 |
| Good | 1,487 | 181 | 12.2% | +0.1 | 1 from 4 |
| Good to Soft | 609 | 55 | 9% | −3.1 | 0 from 1 |
| Soft | 840 | 109 | 13% | +0.9 | 1 from 1 |
| Heavy | 276 | 36 | 13% | +0.9 | — |
| Standard (AW) | 2,142 | 252 | 11.8% | −0.3 | 0 from 2 |
| Distance (all codes) | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 6f | 910 | 122 | 13.4% | +1.3 | 1 from 5 |
| 6f – 7f | 3,366 | 436 | 13% | +0.9 | 1 from 5 |
| 1m – 1m1f | 1,173 | 129 | 11% | −1.1 | — |
| 1m2f – 1m4f | 582 | 54 | 9.3% | −2.8 | — |
| 1m5f – 2m | 184 | 14 | 7.6% | −4.5 | — |
| 2m1f – 2m4f | 77 | 5 | 6.5% | −5.6 | — |
| 2m5f – 3m | 5 | 0 | 0% | −12.1 | — |
Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 17 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast
2 siblings in the archive, 1 winner — best of them Lisboa (IRE) (1 win).
The wins came over 1m2f; the highest grade won is Class 4 (Lisboa (IRE)).
| Produce | Runs | Wins | Win trips | Best grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisboa (IRE) | 5 | 1 | 1m2f | Class 4 |
| Bold Commander (IRE) | 6 | 0 | — | — |
Record by conditions
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 4 | 1 | 25% | −0.50 |
| Good to Firm | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Standard (AW) | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Soft | 1 | 1 | 100% | +6.00 |
| Good to Soft | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Class | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Course | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naas | 2 | 2 | 100% | +8.50 |
| Dundalk (AW) | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Curragh | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Newmarket | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Navan | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Tipperary | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Ascot | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Distance | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6f – 7f | 5 | 1 | 20% | +2.00 |
| Under 6f | 5 | 1 | 20% | −1.50 |
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Lordan | 6 | 1 | 17% | −2.50 |
| Gavin Ryan | 2 | 0 | 0% | −2.00 |
| Jack Cleary | 1 | 1 | 100% | +6.00 |
| Ryan Moore | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Headgear | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 6 | 2 | 33% | +4.50 |
| Cheekpieces | 3 | 0 | 0% | −3.00 |
| Tongue tie + blinkers | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
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
| Date | Course | Race | Pos | Btn | Wgt | OR | Spd | KTB | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 25+14d | Naas | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Birdcatcher Premier Nursery Handicap Sat close up early - hit front at halfway - challenged hard two out - driven clear approaching final furlong and held on gamely to the line | 1/14 | 9-1 | 85 | 101C | 99A | Jack Cleary | 6/1 | |
| 27 Sep 25+8d | Newmarket | Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes (Group 1) Withdrawn from and returned to the stalls before the off - settled close to the front - hit the front before halfway - shaken up but overtaken 2f out and dropped away in the closing stages | 9/9 | nk | 9-2 | 85 | 92A | 84A | Gavin Ryan | 80/1 |
| 19 Sep 25+13d | Dundalk (AW) | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race Held a midfield spot early - asked for effort 2f out and up to 5th with a furlong left - moved into 3rd inside the final 150 yards - stayed on at the same rate to the line beaten half a length | 3/10 | hd | 9-10 | 87 | 95A | 98A | Wayne Lordan | 7/2 |
| 06 Sep 25+7d | Navan | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Rated Race Sat close to the front pack early - 5th at halfway - asked for effort with 2f left - into 3rd inside final furlong but couldn't quicken - held no threat late and finished 4th | 4/6 | 1 | 9-11 | 89 | 76A | 85B | Wayne Lordan | 18/5 |
| 30 Aug 25+59d | Curragh | Heider Family Stables Round Tower Stakes (Group 3) Settled midfield early - 7th at halfway - driven approaching final two furlongs but unable to threaten leaders and finished well held | 9/10 | 1 | 9-5 | 91 | 68A | 71A | Gavin Ryan | 33/1 |
| 02 Jul 25+14d | Tipperary | Coolmore Stud Little Big Bear Tipperary Stakes (Listed) Settled early - 4th at halfway - pushed into runner-up spot with 1 1/2f left - unable to close in the final furlong and finished second | 2/5 | 1¾ | 9-5 | — | 109C | 84B | Wayne Lordan | 10/3 |
| 18 Jun 25+24d | Ascot | Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) Away on the stand rail - held a forward spot with the pack - lost touch under pressure inside final furlong - well held at the line | 19/23 | nk | 9-5 | — | 59C | 66A | Ryan Moore | 18/1 |
| 25 May 25+15d | Curragh | GAIN Marble Hill Stakes (Group 3) Slow to break - travelled keenly towards the back of the pack early - up to 4th by halfway - unable to threaten the leading pair late and held to finish 4th | 4/6 | 7½ | 9-5 | — | 65A | 80B | Wayne Lordan | 22/1 |
| 10 May 25+29d | Naas | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Sat behind the front group early - urged into 3rd approaching final 2f - hit the front 150 yards out and stayed on strongly to the line | 1/9 | 9-7 | — | 59A | 98A | Wayne Lordan | 5/2 | |
| 11 Apr 25 | Dundalk (AW) | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Sat just off the front group - fourth at halfway - asked for effort inside final 2f and stayed on strongly to snatch second near the line | 2/6 | 1½ | 9-7 | — | 74A | 82B | Wayne Lordan | 4/1 |
Quick answers
- How many races has First Approach (IRE) won?
- First Approach (IRE) won 2 of 10 archived starts in 2025, a strike rate of 20%. Placed 5 times in total (50% of starts).
- Who trained First Approach (IRE)?
- First Approach (IRE) was trained by A P O'Brien on the most recent run on record, at Naas on 11 October 2025.
- Who is First Approach (IRE)'s sire?
- First Approach (IRE) is by No Nay Never (USA) out of Alphabet (GB), whose sire is Lawman.
- What going does First Approach (IRE) prefer?
- First Approach (IRE) has the best record on good going: 1 win from 4 starts (25%). Only going bands with at least three archived starts are read, so this is a direction rather than a settled preference.
- What is First Approach (IRE)'s official rating?
- The most recent official rating on record is 85, from the run on 11 October 2025. The highest on record is 91.
- What is First Approach (IRE)'s sire's record?
- No Nay Never (USA)'s progeny in our archive have won 12.1% of 6,297 runs since Jan 2008 (703 horses), Flat and jumps together. Weakest on good to soft going: 9% from 609. Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 7.6% from 184.
- Who are First Approach (IRE)'s siblings?
- Out of Alphabet (GB), First Approach (IRE) has 2 other produce in our archive, 1 of them a winner. Most wins: Lisboa (IRE) (1). Highest grade won: Class 4 (Lisboa (IRE)). The wins came over 1m2f. As at Oct 2026.