Illogical Logic

What makes the name feel oddly appropriate is the pattern of its career. Nine places from 25 races means this horse keeps turning up, keeps running respectably, and keeps finishing just off the pace. It is not a horse that falls apart or gives up — the recent form of a third and a second from its last six suggests it can still be competitive — but the final step to winning has been elusive. Its most common level of competition is Class 4, the sort of mid-tier races that make up the backbone of a British racing card, and it has yet to win at that level in 11 attempts.

Jack Tudor, one of the most promising young jump jockeys around, has ridden Illogical Logic in 15 of those 25 races and has managed just the one win together — roughly 1 in every 15 rides. That is a modest return even by this horse's own standards. Trainer Christian Williams, who operates out of his yard at Ogmore-By-Sea on the Glamorgan coast, has had a productive season with 25 winners, so the infrastructure is clearly working. Illogical Logic, now eight years old and still racing — it ran just yesterday — simply hasn't been able to add to its solitary winner's trophy since that June day at Newton Abbot over a year ago. Whether it can find another is a question only the next race will answer.