The concern is what has happened since. Nineteen months have passed since that Beverley win, and in the six races since, the best it has managed is a third place. The recent form reads 12-11-3-5-2-4 going back from yesterday — those double-digit finishes suggest races where things simply did not go to plan, though the second and third place show the ability is still there when conditions click. It is the kind of form that says: not out of form exactly, but not quite finding that winning moment either.
The horse is trained by Ben Haslam at Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, a yard that has sent out 32 winners this season — a solid, productive operation that clearly knows how to get horses ready to run. Jason Hart, who rides Beaujolais Nouveau most often, has won 1 from their 5 races together, which works out at 20%, or roughly 1 in every 5 — a perfectly respectable partnership, even if the overall win rate across all 12 career races sits at just 8%, or about 1 in 12. It raced just yesterday, so it is very much in the middle of a campaign.
The honest picture is of a horse that can place — reliably, repeatedly — but has struggled to get its head in front since that one bright day at Beverley. Whether another win is coming depends on everything falling right at once. It has shown it can do it. It just has not managed it again yet.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripon Sharp |
4 | 1 third, 3 other | 27 Sep | 0% |
| Thirsk Galloping |
3 | 1 second, 1 third, 1 other | 18 Apr | 0% |
| Beverley Undulating |
1 | 1 win | 18 Sep | 100% |
| Catterick Bridge Sharp |
1 | 1 second | 28 Aug | 0% |
| Carlisle Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 25 Jun | 0% |
| Pontefract Undulating |
1 | 1 third | 1 May | 0% |
| Hamilton Park Sharp |
1 | 1 second | 13 Jul | 0% |