Itwasfate

Henry De Bromhead, one of Ireland's most respected trainers, has the horse based at his yard in Knockeen, County Waterford — an operation that has sent out 115 winners this season alone, which gives you a sense of the quality and volume De Bromhead works with. When Itwasfate finally broke through at Kilbeggan, De Bromhead spoke warmly about it, noting the horse had deserved the win after just missing out in a previous race and had shown enough on its return to suggest there was more to come. That optimism has not yet been fully rewarded.

Perhaps the most striking detail in Itwasfate's story is the partnership with Rachael Blackmore, one of the most celebrated jockeys in the sport. The two have been paired together seven times without a win between them — a combination that, on paper at least, should have delivered more. Blackmore is the kind of rider who wins the biggest races in the world, so the fact that this pairing has drawn a blank across seven attempts says more about the horse's level than the rider's ability.

Recent form gives a mixed picture: two second-place finishes in the last six races suggest the horse is still running well enough to be competitive, and with a race just yesterday, it remains very much in active training. The challenge now is converting that consistency into a win for the first time in 47 months. For a horse that has placed 9 times in 20 races, the talent is clearly there in some form — it just has a habit of finishing the race in someone else's shadow.