The recent run of form doesn't offer much encouragement either. In its last six races, Grand Echo has finished eighth, missed one race, then come home fifth, eleventh, twelfth, and sixth. That stretch includes a couple of pretty disappointing finishes deep in the field, though the fifth place suggests there are days when things click a little better. The horse last raced 17 days ago and is still active, so the yard — the trainer and team at Upper Lambourn — clearly haven't given up on finding a suitable spot.
Most of Grand Echo's racing has come at Class 6, which is the entry level of British racing — essentially the races where horses with modest form compete against each other for smaller prizes. In six races at that level, the horse is yet to win, which makes things harder to spin positively. Jockey George Bass has been in the saddle for five of those races and is also still waiting for that first win together.
The trainer, Mark Usher, operates out of Upper Lambourn in Berkshire and has sent out 15 winners this season, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses to win. Grand Echo just hasn't been one of them yet. Whether that changes soon is the question — but at three years old, there's still time for this one to surprise a few people.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kempton Park Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 25 Feb | 0% |
| Leicester Sharp |
2 | 2 other | 7 Oct | 0% |
| Lingfield Park Sharp |
2 | 1 third, 1 other | 14 Jan | 0% |
| Newbury Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 11 Apr | 0% |
| Wolverhampton Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 22 Sep | 0% |
| chelmsford | 1 | 1 other | 12 Mar | 0% |