Bayonetta

The recent form tells an interesting story. In her last six races Bayonetta has finished second, fourth, third, third, third, and fifth — a sequence that suggests a horse bang in the mix and running consistently, but one that keeps getting edged out when it matters. That run of three consecutive thirds is particularly telling: she is not dropping away or running badly, she is simply finding one or two too good on the day. For a horse still racing actively — she ran just yesterday — there is clearly no shortage of enthusiasm from the yard.

Bayonetta competes at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the racing ladder, and has raced four times at that level without winning. Gerald Stephen Quinn trains her from his base in Ballymena, County Antrim, a yard that has sent out two winners so far this season. Quinn is not a high-volume operation churning out winners week after week, which makes it all the more clear that Bayonetta is kept in work because the yard believe there is a race to be won somewhere. The question is where and when.

At eight years old, time is not exactly on her side, but horses of this age do occasionally find their moment — particularly when conditions fall just right or the field is a little weaker than usual. Bayonetta's record is not one of a horse that is hopeless or out of her depth; it is the record of a horse that has been competitive in a majority of her races and simply had the misfortune of meeting something better. Nine places from 16 races is genuinely solid. The win, if it comes, will have been a long time coming — and probably well deserved.