Huntsgrove

That Sligo win, recorded 14 months ago, remains the sole peak of a career that has largely been spent chasing rather than leading. Since then, Huntsgrove has gone six races without winning, finishing fifth twice, fourth once, seventh once, and falling or being pulled up in the two most recent outings. That recent form makes for difficult reading — there is a clear downward trend, and at eight years old, time is not on its side.

Daniel King is the jockey most associated with Huntsgrove, having ridden the horse in 8 of its 20 races. Together they have won once from those eight attempts, which is a win rate of 12% — noticeably better than the horse's overall record, suggesting King gets something out of this horse that others do not. Whether that translates into a second win together remains to be seen.

The trainer behind the operation is John Patrick Ryan, based at Templemore in County Tipperary. Ryan's yard has been in solid form this season, sending out 21 winners, which shows this is a functioning, productive training operation — Huntsgrove simply has not been one of the success stories. Huntsgrove raced just one day ago, so the yard clearly have not lost faith yet, and the horse remains in active training. Whether there is another day like Sligo still to come is the only question worth asking.