The four-year-old, trained by Matthew J Smith at his yard in Kilmessan, Co. Meath, has placed twice from those 16 races but has never managed to get its nose in front. A win rate of exactly zero is a tough number to dress up, but the recent form suggests something is at least stirring. In the last six races, I'll Be Handy has finished second twice and fourth once, and raced just yesterday — so this is a horse very much in the thick of things right now.
That recent improvement is worth noting. A finishing position of 14 in one of those six runs shows it doesn't always fire, but back-to-back second places suggest that when conditions suit, this horse is competitive and knocking on the door. The frustrating thing for the yard — the trainer and the team at Kilmessan — is that knocking on the door and actually opening it are very different things in racing. Smith's yard has sent out 8 winners this season, so the know-how is there. Whether I'll Be Handy can finally convert one of those near-misses into a first career win remains the central question.
At 16 races in and still waiting, time is beginning to matter. But with a race just 24 hours ago, nobody is giving up on this horse yet.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curragh Galloping |
5 | 5 other | 12 Apr | 0% |
| Fairyhouse Galloping |
3 | 1 second, 2 other | 30 Nov | 0% |
| Cork Galloping |
2 | 2 other | 12 Oct | 0% |
| Naas Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 12 Oct | 0% |
| Punchestown Galloping |
1 | 1 second | 13 Nov | 0% |
| Downpatrick Undulating |
1 | 1 other | 22 May | 0% |
| Down Royal Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 29 Sep | 0% |
| Roscommon Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 19 May | 0% |
| Leopardstown Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 30 Mar | 0% |