Bunting

That one win came at Limerick on St Stephen's Day 2023, the kind of festive card that draws a big, cheerful crowd. Jockey Sean O'Keeffe was complimentary afterwards, describing Bunting as a horse who did everything well and showed a lovely attitude — he jumped fluently, had a brief look at the last couple of fences, but got the job done with composure. It was the profile of a horse learning its trade rather than one scraping through. The trouble is, that was now 30 months ago, and the six races since have read 3-4-9-9-6-12 in reverse — a sequence drifting in the wrong direction, with that most recent twelfth-place finish hardest to ignore.

When Bunting has been stepped up to the top level, it has gone 0 from 3 — no wins from three attempts at Class 1, the very best races in the sport. That is not a disgrace; those races are brutally competitive, and simply being entered in them reflects well on how the yard rates the horse. But it does sketch a ceiling, at least for now.

The more interesting question is whether fences change the picture. Mullins has spoken about sending Bunting jumping, noting that he has schooled well and that there could be more to offer over obstacles. Coming from a man whose horses have won virtually everything worth winning in jump racing, that is a considered comment rather than a throwaway one. Bunting has 1 win from 17 races, form that has cooled over the last six outings, and a trainer who still believes the best chapter may not have been written yet. Racing on all kinds of ground and still active — last seen just yesterday — this is a horse in transition, and transitions are where stories change.