Fast Tara

That sole win came at Bellewstown back in April 2023, and it remains the only time Fast Tara has hit the front. Over 39 months have passed since then, and the six most recent races — finishing 9th, 3rd, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 3rd — tell a familiar story: competitive enough to place, not yet able to win. The two third-place finishes in the most recent runs are encouraging in one sense, proof that the spark is still there, but they also underline the pattern that has defined this horse's career.

Ben Coen is the regular partner in the saddle, having ridden Fast Tara in nine of its races together for that one win — a win rate of roughly 1 in every 9 rides, or about 11%, which is notably better than the horse's overall record and suggests the combination works. The training operation is Paul W Flynn's yard in Colehill, Co Longford, which has sent out 22 winners already this season — a productive yard that clearly knows how to get horses ready to perform.

Where Fast Tara shows its best form is over distances of seven furlongs to a mile, winning 1 of 12 races at that range. One win from 12 might not sound like much, but it represents the horse's entire career success, and those trips bring out something more competitive. Fast Tara raced just one day ago and remains an active runner, so another chance is never far away. Bellewstown struck lucky once — perhaps it will again.