Juniper Sling

The recent form figures tell an interesting story. Finishing third and fifth not long ago suggested a horse finding its feet, and a run of sixth followed by third hinted at improvement. But the last two runs — fifteenth and eighteenth — are a sharp step in the wrong direction and will have the team at Dunsany scratching their heads. Racing just one day ago, Juniper Sling is clearly being kept busy, which suggests the yard believes there is a race to be won somewhere.

That yard is worth paying attention to. G M Lyons, based in Co Meath, has sent out 49 winners already this season — a number that puts the operation firmly among the more productive stables around. A trainer with that kind of firepower does not keep running a horse without reason, and the fact that Juniper Sling continues to line up is a quiet vote of confidence that better days may be ahead. Whether the horse can repay that faith remains the open question.