Ferrari Desert

The recent form makes for fairly tough reading. In the last six races, Ferrari Desert has finished ninth, seventh, tenth, tenth, second, and fifth — working backwards from the most recent. That second place a few runs back is the one flicker of encouragement, a sign that the ability is still there somewhere, but the three double-figure finishes either side of it suggest consistency is the missing ingredient. Raced just yesterday, the horse is clearly being kept busy, which is typical of horses at this level where entries come thick and fast.

The partnership with jockey Keithen Kennedy is worth watching. Together they have won 1 from 7 — roughly 1 in every 7 races, which is a meaningful improvement on the horse's overall record. That suggests Kennedy brings something out of the horse, or at least knows how to place it best. The yard behind all of this is Mark Fahey's operation in Cloneygath, Co Kildare, which has sent out 24 winners this season — a productive yard by any measure, so the platform is there if the horse can find its form.

The sweet spot for Ferrari Desert appears to be races run over seven furlongs to a mile, where it has won 1 from 12 races — again, not a sparkling number, but the one win did come in that range, at Dundalk. Dundalk is an all-weather track that races year-round indoors, which suits horses that need reliable conditions rather than the unpredictability of turf. Whether Ferrari Desert can rediscover that October 2024 moment is the question worth asking — though after 18 months without a winner, the honest answer is that it will need to find something extra to remind everyone what it once showed.