Bill Joyce

The pattern is clearer than it first appears. Bill Joyce thrives on wet, muddy ground — he has won 2 of his 5 races on such conditions, a 40 per cent return — and he seems to peak for his trainer Jonjo & A.J. O'Neill and jockey Jonjo O'Neill Jr, with whom he has won 3 of 9 races together. But the longer he goes without success, the harder it becomes. His last six races have brought a single third-place finish and otherwise nothing. He raced just yesterday, which means the yard clearly believes there is still something to run for, but the question now is whether Bill Joyce can rediscover the form that took him to the winner's circle at Sandown. For a horse entering his eighth year, opportunities like that do not come around twice.