Half Pint Daisy

The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading. In her last six races she has finished fifth, second, sixth, sixth, sixth, and eighth — that second place showing a rare glimpse of what might be possible, but surrounded by a run of disappointing efforts on either side of it. She has not won in any of her last six outings, and with regular jockey Richard Patrick aboard for six of those races without a victory to show for it, the partnership has yet to click in the way both would hope.

What makes this slightly puzzling is that Boultbee-Brooks himself is clearly capable of getting horses fit and ready to win — the yard has sent out nine winners already this season, so this is not a trainer struggling for form. Half Pint Daisy simply hasn't found a way to translate that into a result of her own. She raced just yesterday, so she is very much still active and still being given chances to turn things around.

At Class 4 level — a mid-tier grade where races are competitive but not the highest standard — she has run three times without winning. For a seven-year-old, time is not exactly running out, but it is not standing still either. The hope will be that the second place finish is a sign of ability waiting to be unlocked, rather than a ceiling she keeps falling just short of.