Illtakehimmyself

The most telling part of Illtakehimmyself's story is what has happened recently. Over his last six races, he has finished second twice, third once, and fourth once, with a fifth-place finish mixed in. That is a horse running in exactly the races he belongs in, close enough to the action to be competitive, yet far enough away to go home empty-handed. He was out on the track just yesterday, staying active and in work, which suggests the yard still believes there is more to come.

That yard—E McNamara's operation at Rathkeale in County Limerick—has sent out twenty-two winners this season, so Illtakehimmyself is certainly not being trained in a backwater. The stable knows how to produce winners. Whether this horse will finally be one of them remains an open question, but right now he is a decent competitor treading water at the edge of success, waiting for the break that just might not come.