The recent form is actually more encouraging than the bare record suggests. Looking at the last six runs, she has finished second on four separate occasions, with a sixth and one unplaced run mixed in. Four runner-up finishes out of six races is the kind of consistency that would be genuinely impressive if the winning post were a few inches further along. She is clearly doing something right — she just hasn't found the race where everything clicks.
Robbie Colgan has ridden her five times without a win between them, so that partnership hasn't cracked the code yet either. Whether the answer lies in a change of tactics, a different trip, or simply waiting for the right race to come along is the question Noel C Kelly's yard will be working through. Kelly, based in Draperstown in County Derry, has sent out 14 winners this season, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses to win — Echinacea just hasn't been one of them yet.
She is currently active, which means the next chapter hasn't been written. For a horse that has placed in 6 of her 14 races, there is enough evidence of ability to believe a first win is possible. When it comes, it will feel well earned.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundalk Galloping |
6 | 4 seconds, 2 other | 1 Apr | 0% |
| Leopardstown Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 5 Jun | 0% |
| The Curragh Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 16 Mar | 0% |
| Gowran Park Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 23 Apr | 0% |
| Sligo Sharp |
1 | 1 third | 6 Aug | 0% |
| Navan Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 28 Aug | 0% |
| Limerick Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 12 Jul | 0% |
| Punchestown Galloping |
1 | 1 second | 16 Sep | 0% |