Cosmic Force

The recent form makes for sobering reading. Looking at the last six races — finishing 8th, 6th, 6th, 3rd, 5th, and 7th in the most recent outing — there is a brief flicker of promise in that third-place finish, but the overall picture is one of a horse that has drifted towards the back of the field more often than not. Raced just yesterday, Cosmic Force is clearly active and getting plenty of opportunities, which matters.

Regular jockey Robert Whearty has been aboard for five of those races without finding the winner's enclosure, and trainer Keith Henry Clarke's yard in Drumree, Co. Meath has managed just one winner this season. Cosmic Force typically lines up at Class 5 level — the entry-level tier of British racing — where it has run four times without winning. At that level, every race should theoretically represent a realistic opportunity, which makes the blank scorecard all the more puzzling. Still, a horse that races this frequently is clearly sound and willing, and those two placed finishes prove it is not without ability. Sometimes a horse just needs everything to click at once — and for Cosmic Force, that moment is still out there somewhere.