Baltinglass Hill

What's genuinely interesting about Baltinglass Hill is how its record changes when you look at longer distances — between a mile and six furlongs and two miles, it has won 1 of just 3 races, which works out at 33%, or roughly 1 in every 3. That's a striking contrast to its overall record and suggests that when conditions suit — a proper test of stamina, room to settle and build — this horse is a different animal entirely. The problem is it doesn't get those opportunities often enough.

Trained by P J Rothwell out of Tinahely in County Wicklow, Baltinglass Hill is part of a yard that has sent out 36 winners this season, so there's clearly no shortage of ability in the operation. Tiernan Power Roche has ridden the horse ten times without finding the winner's enclosure together, which is one of those combinations that keeps trying without quite clicking. The most recent form figures — a couple of thirds, a couple of blanks, and two seventh-place finishes — paint a picture of a horse that shows up and competes without threatening to win. That Roscommon victory is now 22 months in the past.

Still racing at nine, still placing, still being pointed at opportunities. Baltinglass Hill isn't going to trouble the prize money records, but there's something quietly admirable about a horse that keeps showing up. The question is whether those longer trips can produce one more moment like Roscommon.