A Mere Bagatelle

The horse is trained by James Owen, whose yard in Newmarket, Suffolk has been in serious form this season — 205 winners is the kind of number that puts a stable firmly on the map. A Mere Bagatelle sits at Class 4 level, which is solid mid-table racing, and at that level has won 1 from 8 races, or roughly 1 in every 8 attempts. Its most regular partner in the saddle is Mr Paddy Hanlon, who has ridden it in 6 races and won once together — a win rate of about 1 in 6, which is actually the best the horse has managed with any regular rider.

The career highlights are dotted across the calendar. The first win came at Cartmel back in June 2022 — a scenic, quirky little track in Cumbria that suits certain types of horse down to the ground. The most recent victory was at Downpatrick in March 2025, which means it has been 12 months now without a win across its last six runs. That current sequence reads 4th, 10th, 2nd, a blank, 4th, and 2nd — so the placings are still coming, just not the victories. It is the kind of form that suggests a horse running consistently enough but perhaps waiting for the right day and the right race to click.

Raced just 18 days ago and still active, A Mere Bagatelle is clearly a durable sort that keeps finding its way back to the track. At nine years old, with 48 races behind it, it has earned its place in the field every time it runs. Whether another win is coming is the question — but if the recent placed efforts are anything to go by, it is not running out of try.