Battling Siki

Trained by Mark Fahey out of Cloneygath in County Kildare, Battling Siki is part of a yard that clearly knows how to win — 24 winners so far this season is a healthy total that shows Fahey has plenty of horses performing. The fact that this particular horse hasn't joined them yet doesn't reflect on the operation, but it does suggest Battling Siki may need things to fall right, or perhaps a different kind of test, before it finds its way to the winner's enclosure.

At four years old, there is still time. Some horses simply take longer to figure it out, and one place from five races means it has at least shown it can get competitive — that third-place finish is proof it isn't simply making up the numbers. Whether it can take the next step and convert is the question worth watching.