Cut The Rope

Recent form has been patchy. In its last six outings, Cut The Rope finished fourth, then fourth again, before a distant thirteenth and twelfth-place finish, followed by a gap in the record and a fifth place just a few days ago. The horse is still actively racing — last out just yesterday — so there is life in the campaign yet, though a dry spell of this length (44 months without a win) is hard to reverse. The yard training the horse, Eddie & Patrick Harty's operation at the Curragh, has had a productive season with 16 winners to their name, so Cut The Rope is at least in a competent setup, but breaking through at age seven, especially after such a long absence from the winner's column, becomes progressively harder. What keeps this horse interesting is not what it has won, but what it has finished near — five places from 21 races suggest it is genuinely competitive, just not quite clicking at the decisive moment.