Serious Contender (IRE)
Serious Contender won two of six starts on turf. Both wins came at Leopardstown, in an Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden over 1m to 1m1f on soft ground in Oct 2024 and the 1888 Restaurant Handicap over 1m2f to 1m4f on good ground in Mar 2025. The colt finished second of 10 in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh in Jun 2025 when last raced off a career-high mark of 101. By Wootton Bassett out of a Galileo mare, he was trained by A P O'Brien.
- 2–6Wins / Runs
- 33.3%Strike rate
- 5 (83.3%)Placed
- −0.75£1 level staken=6 at SP
- 1.52Fair A/E n=6 · 1.23 incl. margin
- 101Highest OR
- 57dAvg 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 111
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 28 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 3 | 111A | 93 | — |
| Good to Firm | 1 | — | — | — |
| Soft | 1 | — | — | — |
| Distance | Runs | Best | Median | Since 28 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1m2f – 1m4f | 3 | 111A | 93 | — |
| 1m – 1m1f | 1 | — | — | — |
| 6f – 7f | 1 | — | — | — |
Of 6 runs looked at, 1 has no figure: not enough races on the card to set the day (under 4) (1).
KTB Speed v1 · batch 15 Sep 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 5 figures from 6 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 6 analysed runs since Sep 2024
- Prominent 4 (67%) · 2 wins
- Led 2 (33%) · 0 wins
Pedigree intelligence
Progeny in our archive have won 13.1% of 5,662 runs since Jan 2008 (789 horses).
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | 2 | 0 | 0% | −13.1 | — |
| Good to Firm | 556 | 73 | 13.1% | 0 | 0 from 1 |
| Good | 1,300 | 191 | 14.7% | +1.6 | 1 from 3 |
| Good to Soft | 835 | 99 | 11.9% | −1.2 | — |
| Soft | 1,017 | 153 | 15% | +1.9 | 1 from 2 |
| Heavy | 356 | 48 | 13.5% | +0.4 | — |
| Standard (AW) | 1,594 | 175 | 11% | −2.1 | — |
| Distance (all codes) | Runs | Wins | SR | vs sire | This horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 6f | 162 | 26 | 16% | +2.9 | — |
| 6f – 7f | 1,935 | 302 | 15.6% | +2.5 | 0 from 1 |
| 1m – 1m1f | 1,906 | 219 | 11.5% | −1.6 | 1 from 2 |
| 1m2f – 1m4f | 1,275 | 153 | 12% | −1.1 | 1 from 3 |
| 1m5f – 2m | 281 | 36 | 12.8% | −0.3 | — |
| 2m1f – 2m4f | 94 | 3 | 3.2% | −9.9 | — |
| 2m5f – 3m | 9 | 0 | 0% | −13.1 | — |
Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 28 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast
1 sibling in the archive, 1 winner — best of them Ice Dancer (IRE) (1 win).
The wins came over 1m.
| Produce | Runs | Wins | Win trips | Best grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Dancer (IRE) | 9 | 1 | 1m | — |
Record by conditions
| Going | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 3 | 1 | 33% | +0.25 |
| Soft | 2 | 1 | 50% | +0.00 |
| Good to Firm | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Class | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 2 | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Course | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leopardstown | 2 | 2 | 100% | +3.25 |
| Curragh | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Ascot | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Tipperary | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Naas | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Distance | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1m2f – 1m4f | 3 | 1 | 33% | +0.25 |
| 1m – 1m1f | 2 | 1 | 50% | +0.00 |
| 6f – 7f | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Lordan | 3 | 1 | 33% | −1.00 |
| Ryan Moore | 2 | 1 | 50% | +1.25 |
| Gavin Ryan | 1 | 0 | 0% | −1.00 |
| Season | Runs | Wins | SR | £1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 33% | +0.25 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1 | 33% | −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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 · 3 runs | ||||||||||
| 29 Jun 25+10d | Curragh | Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Group 1) Up with the front group early - settled 4th at halfway - niggled 4f out and moved into 3rd 2f out - challenged for the lead 1 1/2f out - contention a furlong out - stuck on at one speed in the final furlong to finish second | 2/10 | ¾ | 9-2 | 101 | 111A | 100A | Gavin Ryan | 28/1 |
| 19 Jun 25+81d | Ascot | King George V Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) Sent off wide early - settled up with the pace - hit front two furlongs out - pressed for advantage before giving way close home to finish second beaten a length | 2/19 | 1 | 9-6 | 92 | 90C | 103A | Ryan Moore | 7/1 |
| 30 Mar 25+162d | Leopardstown | 1888 Restaurant Handicap Settled just behind the front group on the rail - urged into 4th with 2f remaining - improved to 3rd inside the last furlong marker - hit the front close home - kept on gamely to prevail | 1/16 | 9-9 | 85 | 93C | 97A | Ryan Moore | 9/4F | |
| 2024 · 3 runs | ||||||||||
| 19 Oct 24+13d | Leopardstown | Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C & G) Maiden Up with the pace early - sharing the lead from 2f - driven forward 2f out - edged ahead just outside the final furlong before being caught and passed - fought back tenaciously - regained the advantage in the closing 50 yards to win | 1/10 | 9-5 | — | 96A | 93A | Wayne Lordan | EvensF | |
| 06 Oct 24+17d | Tipperary | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Sharing the front spot early - roused into the straight and edged clear inside the last two furlongs - soon overtaken - held on gamely without finding more for second | 2/10 | 2½ | 9-7 | — | — | 91A | Wayne Lordan | EvensF |
| 19 Sep 24 | Naas | Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Shared front spot early - went clear 3f out then pressed and lost command 2f out - couldn't find more and dropped away close home | 4/7 | 1¼ | 9-7 | — | 67A | 89B | Wayne Lordan | 11/2 |
Quick answers
- How many races has Serious Contender won?
- Serious Contender (IRE) won 2 of 6 archived starts between 2024 and 2025, a strike rate of 33.3%. Placed 5 times in total (83.3% of starts).
- Who trained Serious Contender?
- Serious Contender (IRE) was trained by A P O'Brien on the most recent run on record, at Curragh on 29 June 2025.
- Who is Serious Contender's sire?
- Serious Contender (IRE) is by Wootton Bassett (GB) out of Lugnaquilla (IRE), whose sire is Galileo.
- What going does Serious Contender prefer?
- Serious Contender (IRE) has the best record on good going: 1 win from 3 starts (33.3%). Only going bands with at least three archived starts are read, so this is a direction rather than a settled preference.
- What is Serious Contender's official rating?
- The most recent official rating on record is 101, from the run on 29 June 2025. That is also the highest on record.
- What is Serious Contender's sire's record?
- Wootton Bassett (GB)'s progeny in our archive have won 13.1% of 5,662 runs since Jan 2008 (789 horses), Flat and jumps together.
- Who are Serious Contender's siblings?
- Out of Lugnaquilla (IRE), Serious Contender (IRE) has 1 other produce in our archive, 1 of them a winner. Most wins: Ice Dancer (IRE) (1). The wins came over 1m. As at Oct 2026.