Blazing Court

The current form makes for uncomfortable reading. Blazing Court has gone six races without winning since that Worcester success, with recent finishes of fourth, fifteenth, and fifth suggesting the spark is proving difficult to reignite. The horse last raced just yesterday, so it is clearly being kept busy, but results have not followed.

The partnership with regular rider Mr John Dixon tells its own story — nine races together without a single win. That is not necessarily a reflection on either horse or jockey individually, but it does underline that the combination has yet to click in the way the yard would hope. Most of Blazing Court's races have come at Class 5, which is the entry level of British racing, and even there the horse has drawn a blank across 10 attempts at that level. For context, Class 5 races are essentially the bread-and-butter of the sport, designed for horses that are still looking to find their feet. Going winless across 10 races at that level tells you this is a horse that competes gamely but finds rivals who are just that little bit sharper on the day.

The Worcester win, now almost two years ago, remains the high-water mark of Blazing Court's career. Whether that represents a moment of everything going right — the right race, the right conditions, the right day — or the beginning of a level the horse simply hasn't been able to sustain, the record since suggests it was a rare occasion rather than a springboard. Still racing regularly at eight years old, Blazing Court is clearly loved by the yard, and sometimes that persistence is rewarded. But on the evidence available, another win would be a welcome and long-overdue surprise.