Craic Eile

The recent form makes for tough reading: in the last six outings the best result has been a fifth, with a couple of sixth-place finishes and a ninth thrown in for good measure. That dash in the sequence means a race where Craic Eile didn't finish — another frustrating entry in a career that seems to specialise in near-misses and what-might-have-beens. Raced just yesterday, so this is very much an ongoing story rather than a horse winding down.

Shane Fitzgerald has stuck by the horse more than anyone, taking the ride in seven of those 44 races — and in fairness to both of them, the partnership hasn't found the winner either, sitting at zero wins from seven together. Trainer David Kenneth Budds, based at Reinduff in County Waterford, has sent out two winners so far this season, so the yard is capable of getting horses to win. The question is whether Craic Eile will ever join that list.

At some point, 44 races without a win stops being a bad run and starts being a pattern. That said, seven placed finishes across a long career show this is a horse that keeps trying and keeps finding a way into the frame — just not quite to the front of it. Whether that first win ever comes remains the great open question.