Alex Belardo

The overall record reads one win and 12 places from 25 races, which works out at a win rate of just 4%, or roughly one win in every 25 attempts. That is a modest return by any measure, but the placing record at least shows the horse is competitive and keeps trying — it is not a horse that simply fades out of contention. Recent form backs that up: in its last six races, Alex Belardo has posted a second, a third, a third, and a third among its results, with one unplaced run in the mix. Consistent enough to be interesting, just not quite consistent enough to win.

Where it is most dangerous is over distances of seven furlongs to a mile. At those trips, it has won 1 from 11 races — again, 9% might not sound like much, but it is more than double its overall win rate, which means the distance makes a genuine difference. If Alex Belardo is going to win again, this is probably where it happens.

Jockey Donagh O'Connor has ridden the horse more than anyone else, partnering it in 14 of its 25 races and picking up that single win together — a win rate of 7% between them, or 1 from 14. It is a long-standing partnership, and the fact that McConnell keeps putting O'Connor up suggests the yard believes in the combination even if results have been slow to come.

McConnell himself is having a solid season, with 38 winners already sent out from Stamullen — so this is not a struggling yard. Alex Belardo is simply one of those horses that gives its supporters plenty of near-misses. It raced just yesterday, so it is firmly in training and active. Another chance is always just around the corner.