Elusive Duke

Trainer M A Molloy's yard at Thurles, in Co Tipperary, handles a modest operation — four winners this season tells you this is not a powerhouse operation — and Elusive Duke sits somewhere in the middle of the string. He wins roughly 1 in every 20 races overall, a success rate that suggests he is competing at a level where breakthroughs are hard-earned. He performs noticeably better when the distance stretches to between a mile and a furlong and a mile and two furlongs, winning at a 12% rate (1 from 8 races) over that ground, but even there consistency eludes him. The frequent top-3 finishes — he has six of them from nineteen races — hint that he is not without ability, yet he simply cannot string together the performances needed to add to his tally. He raced just a day ago, so he remains active in the yard's plans, but the longer the gap stretches between that June day and his next win, the harder it becomes to shake the sense that Elusive Duke's moment may have already passed.