Big Fun

The picture becomes sharper when you look at what happens when Big Fun steps up in class. In three attempts at Class 2 races, the horse has managed nothing: three runs without a place. That is a significant warning sign. The yard, Kevin Ryan's outfit at Hambleton in North Yorkshire, is clearly capable — it has sent out 45 winners this season — and the jockey Tom Eaves, who has ridden Big Fun five times, recorded a win rate of 1 in 5 aboard the horse, suggesting the partnership can click. But nothing has clicked for Big Fun in the last six races, and the passage of 15 months without a win hints that the horse may simply have peaked after that summer success at Musselburgh. At three years old, Big Fun remains young enough to find its way back to the winner's circle, but the trend lines are pointing downward.