Aidan O'Brien has claimed most of the plaudits this season after dominating the classic trials, but he's not the only trainer based in Tipperary who has enjoyed notable success this season.
Paddy Twomey, who trains from Golden, hasn't had the headline-hogging winners like O'Brien from nearby Ballydoyle, but he has quietly compiled an excellent record.
Since the start of the Irish Flat season in March, and prior to racing at Cork on Tuesday evening, Twomey has had 12 winners from only 28 Flat runners aged three or older - at a remarkable strike rate of 42.9%. Of the Flat trainers in Britain and Ireland who have had at least 20 runners aged three or older in that time, Charlie Appleby has the next highest strike rate of 30.1%.
That is an attention-grabbing strike rate but arguably more impressive is the yard's percentage of rivals beaten figure. That stands at 83.8%, underlining in no uncertain terms how even the horses who have come up short have largely been running well and proving competitive. Indeed, he has eight runners-up to go with his 12 winners.
The next most successful by the percentage of rivals beaten metric is Stephen Thorne, a newcomer to the training ranks who has posted an impressive 76.15%, but after that there's a significant drop to the next names on the list, with the Crisfords, James Ferguson, Dermot Weld and Ollie Sangster coming in at between 65 and 66%.
It's also notable that the average Timeform performance rating of Twomey's runners aged three or older this season stands at a lofty 86.9 - only Charlie Appleby (93.5) and Aidan O'Brien (89.4) are higher - so there are some fine prospects in the stable that you can have confidence will be placed to good effect.
Three Paddy Twomey horses to note
Carmers (Timeform rating 100p)
Carmers was sent off at a big-price for a debutant from this stable at Ballinrobe this month but he overcame inexperience to win by a length and a quarter at 10/1. He was much stronger in the betting for the listed Yeats Stakes at Navan on Saturday, only eight days after his debut, and he justified that market confidence with an authoritative victory, travelling more fluently than he had at Ballinrobe before again responding well to pressure and drawing three lengths clear. He has very quickly reached a useful level of form and remains open to further improvement, as highlighted by the Timeform 'small p' attached to his rating.
Catalina Delcarpio (99p)
Unlike Carmers, Catalina Delcarpio was unable to make it two from two when raised in class at Navan - in her case in the Group 3 Salsabil Stakes - but she showed enough in second to prove she belongs in pattern company. Indeed, she may well have given the winner, Wemightakedlongway, something to think about had she not been caught in a pocket just as the steady pace was lifting and conceded first run as a result. She was unable to land a serious blow on the winner, who came in for a well-judged front-running ride, but she deserves credit for pulling clear of the remainder and remains the fine prospect she had looked when winning on debut at Leopardstown.
City of Memphis (89P)
City of Memphis was an expensive purchase at the breeze-up sales last year at a cost of €370,000, but connections had to be patient as she didn't make her debut until this month. However, she could hardly have made a more encouraging start at Cork where she readily quickened two and three-quarter lengths clear, proving a class apart from her rivals and rewarding the strong support that saw her sent off an odds-on favourite. The style of that success earned City of Memphis the Timeform 'Large P', reserved for those deemed capable of significantly better form, and her entry in the Irish 1000 Guineas suggests she's held in high regard.
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