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Horse profile

Whispering Willow (IRE)

5yo mare · Trainer Gavin Cromwell · Owner Daragh Odriscoll
by Marcel (IRE) out of Hidden Sapphire (IRE) (Zoffany)
13 runs · 10 courses · from Aug 2025
As at 19 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: GB, Ireland & France · 2005–present, updated daily
Won at Punchestown Ran 13 days ago · 8th of 16 Last raced off OR 97
KTB Profile

Whispering Willow is a mare who won one of 13 starts on turf, the success coming in a handicap hurdle at Punchestown in May 2026 over 1m5f – 2m on good to soft. All five runs at that trip produced the sole win while eight starts over 2m1f – 2m4f brought no success. Typically held up, she finished eighth of 16 at Fairyhouse in Oct 2026 when last raced off a career-high mark of 97.

Based on 13 archived runs · run-style from 6 commented runs · updated 19 Oct 2026
KTB at a glance Typically held up OR at career high
Official rating97At career-high mark
97 86–97

KTB Speed and Rating

KTB Speed

Best recent Speed 117 the best of the last 3 graded (A or B) runs · Down Royal (IRE), 28 Aug 2026

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 117B · median 74
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 19 Oct 2025
Good7117B715 · 117 / 83
Good to Soft380B772 · 80 / 78.5
Soft297A701 · —
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 19 Oct 2025
2m1f – 2m4f8117B75.55 · 117 / 80
1m5f – 2m486B68.53 · 86 / 77

Of 13 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 · 12 figures from 13 runs · as at 13 Oct 2026 · a record, not a forecast

KTB Rating

Best recent KTB Rating (jumps) 113A the best of the last 3 rated runs · Down Royal (IRE), 28 Aug 2026 Official rating 97 at the last jumps run, 5 Oct 2026

Best recent KTB Rating (flat) 66C the best of the last 1 rated run · Galway, 8 Sep 2025

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 128A · median 103.5
GoingRunsBestMedianSince 19 Oct 2025
Good7113A1055 · 113 / 108
Good to Soft3128A1122 · 128 / 120
Soft296B93.51 · —
DistanceRunsBestMedianSince 19 Oct 2025
2m1f – 2m4f8113A995 · 113 / 110
1m5f – 2m4128A106.53 · 128 / 108
Flat 1 figure · too few for a breakdown

KTB Rating v1 · batch 3 Oct 2026 · GB & Irish racing only · 13 figures from 13 runs · as at 13 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

  • Held up 5 (83%) · 0 wins
  • Led 1 (17%) · 0 wins

Pedigree intelligence

Sire
Marcel (IRE)

Progeny in our archive have won 6.3% of 237 runs since Jan 2008 (33 horses).

GoingRunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Firm200%−6.3—
Good to Firm8112.5%+6.2—
Good6134.9%−1.40 from 7
Good to Soft5347.5%+1.21 from 4
Soft5323.8%−2.50 from 2
Heavy1119.1%+2.8—
Standard (AW)4948.2%+1.9—
Distance (all codes)RunsWinsSRvs sireThis horse
Under 6f200%−6.3—
6f – 7f5559.1%+2.8—
1m – 1m1f3239.4%+3.1—
1m2f – 1m4f2800%−6.3—
1m5f – 2m6123.3%−31 from 5
2m1f – 2m4f4936.1%−0.20 from 8
2m5f – 3m10220%+13.7—

Flat and jumps together (all codes) · since Jan 2008 · as at 19 Oct 2026 · rows under 30 runs muted · win % is the measure, a record not a forecast

Dam
Hidden Sapphire (IRE) (Zoffany)

1 sibling in the archive, 0 winners.

ProduceRunsWinsWin tripsBest grade
Boxwood Hill (IRE)20——

Record by conditions

GoingRunsWinsSR£1
Good 7 0 0% −7.00
Good to Soft 4 1 25% +5.00
Soft 2 0 0% −2.00

CourseRunsWinsSR£1
Listowel 2 0 0% −2.00
Downpatrick 2 0 0% −2.00
Galway 2 0 0% −2.00
Fairyhouse (IRE) 1 0 0% −1.00
Downpatrick (IRE) 1 0 0% −1.00
Down Royal (IRE) 1 0 0% −1.00
Kilbeggan (IRE) 1 0 0% −1.00
Roscommon 1 0 0% −1.00
Punchestown 1 1 100% +8.00
Fairyhouse 1 0 0% −1.00

DistanceRunsWinsSR£1
2m1f – 2m4f 8 0 0% −8.00
1m5f – 2m 5 1 20% +4.00

JockeyRunsWinsSR£1
Keith Donoghue 5 0 0% −5.00
Conor Stone-Walsh 3 1 33% +6.00
Jack G Gilligan 2 0 0% −2.00
Jack Gilligan 1 0 0% −1.00
Mr J C Barry 1 0 0% −1.00
Mr O T Gilligan 1 0 0% −1.00

HeadgearRunsWinsSR£1
None 10 1 10% −1.00
Tongue tie 3 0 0% −3.00

SeasonRunsWinsSR£1
2026 8 1 13% +1.00
2025 5 0 0% −5.00

TypeRunsWinsSR£1
Hurdle 8 1 13% +1.00
Chase 3 0 0% −3.00
Flat 1 0 0% −1.00
NH Flat 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

DateCourseRace PosBtn Wgt ORSpdKTB Jockey SP
05 Oct 26+17d Fairyhouse (IRE) Racing Again October 10th Mares Handicap Hurdle 16f · Good · 16 ran raced in the pack's central group - ninth at the fifth - crept nearer after 3 out and lay seventh approaching the penultimate fence - never a threat and finished 8th 8/16 1¾ 11-11 9786B105A Keith Donoghue 5/1
18 Sep 26+21d Downpatrick (IRE) Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Steeplechase 18f · Good · 12 ran 2/12 8 11-5 9771A110A Keith Donoghue 11/4F
28 Aug 26+35d Down Royal (IRE) Golden Cow Handicap Hurdle 17.5f · Good · 14 ran Sat behind the pace early - urged on the rail after the last and third entering the straight - stayed on to move into second inside the final furlong and a half 2/14 3 10-12 96117B113A Conor Stone-Walsh 14/1
24 Jul 26+18d Kilbeggan (IRE) Massey Ferguson Johnston Farm Equipment Longford Handicap Hurdle (Div I) 19f · Good · 16 ran in the pack early - fair 8th 4 out and fair 6th 3 out - found nothing 2 out 10/16 1 11-11 9783C102C Conor Stone-Walsh 14/1
06 Jul 26+35d Roscommon Sheehy Meares/Team Earley Handicap Hurdle (0-100) 16f · Good · 16 ran raced up with the pace and fought for its head early - 3rd at halfway - 2nd entering the straight - faltered 3 out - driven and found nothing more at the second-last - under pressure in 5th and untidy at the last with no more to give 6/16 8 11-11 9755B108A Keith Donoghue 7/2F
01 Jun 26+10d Listowel John B. Keane Beginners Chase 19f · Yielding · 6 ran Sat just behind the front group early - lost fluency 5th - up to 4th by halfway - into 3rd before 5 out - pushed into 2nd before 2 out but unable to close - eased back to 3rd and held in the closing stages 3/6 7½ 11-5 —43A96B Keith Donoghue 4/6F
22 May 26+9d Downpatrick Down Royal Corporation Of Horsebreeders Beginners Chase 19.5f · Good To Yielding · 14 ran Settled in the pack early - fumbled one fence 5th - 6th four out - stumbled again and 5th - up to 3rd two out - driven into 2nd approaching the run-in - urged to press the leader inside the final furlong - kept battling but couldn't get closer for 3rd 3/14 nk 11-5 —80B112A Keith Donoghue 4/1
13 May 26+214d Punchestown Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle (0-100) (Div 1) 16f · Good To Yielding · 19 ran Settled midpack early - down to 10th after fourth - made progress after two out - into second and kept going approaching last - hit front on run-in - drew clear for an easy win 1/19 11-0 8677B128A Conor Stone-Walsh 8/1
11 Oct 25+14d Fairyhouse Adare Manor Opportunity Mares Maiden Hurdle 20f · Yielding · 10 ran Held up in rear - blundered 5th - moved into 3rd after the 7th - ridden after 3 out - faded before 2 out - jumped the last poorly - well held in 6th 6/10 4¼ 10-9 —97A91A Jack G Gilligan 40/1
27 Sep 25+19d Listowel John Lynch Memorial Maiden Hurdle 16f · Good To Yielding · 17 ran Held up towards the back - crept into it approaching 2 out - stayed on late but well held to finish 8th 8/17 3¼ 10-9 —60C86C Jack Gilligan 50/1
08 Sep 25+29d Galway Kenny Developments Irish EBF Mares Flat Race 16.5f · Good To Yielding · 17 ran Settled in the pack early - urged forward from 3f out - held 9th spot 2f out - had nothing left and dropped away late 11/17 4¼ 11-9 ——66C Mr J C Barry 100/1
10 Aug 25+8d Downpatrick ITBA Mares Maiden Hurdle 18f · Good · 8 ran Went forward early to set the pace - headed with 2 furlongs left and unable to find more - slipped back to 4th before the last then pushed along in 5th turning in - soon lost touch and beaten a long way home 6/8 18 10-5 —61A77A Jack G Gilligan 20/1
02 Aug 25 Galway Salthill Hotel Irish EBF Mares Flat Race 17f · Good · 15 ran Held up towards the back - headway 3f out - into 6th and pushed along a furlong and a half out - unable to close and finished well held 8/15 nk 11-1 —67C95A Mr O T Gilligan 40/1

Quick answers

How many races has Whispering Willow (IRE) won?
Whispering Willow (IRE) won 1 of 13 archived starts between 2025 and 2026, a strike rate of 7.7%. Placed 4 times in total (30.8% of starts).
Who trains Whispering Willow (IRE)?
Whispering Willow (IRE) is trained by Gavin Cromwell, who saddled the horse on its most recent run on 5 October 2026.
Who is Whispering Willow (IRE)'s sire?
Whispering Willow (IRE) is by Marcel (IRE) out of Hidden Sapphire (IRE), whose sire is Zoffany.
What going does Whispering Willow (IRE) prefer?
Whispering Willow (IRE) has the best record on good to soft 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 Whispering Willow (IRE)'s official rating?
The most recent official rating on record is 97, from the run on 5 October 2026. That is also the highest on record.
What is Whispering Willow (IRE)'s sire's record?
Marcel (IRE)'s progeny in our archive have won 6.3% of 237 runs since Jan 2008 (33 horses), Flat and jumps together.
Who are Whispering Willow (IRE)'s siblings?
Out of Hidden Sapphire (IRE), Whispering Willow (IRE) has 1 other produce in our archive, 0 of them winners. As at Oct 2026.

Record shown from August 2025. 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.