Just A Memory

The recent run of form doesn't offer much encouragement either. In the last six races, Just A Memory has finished third once and second once, with three runs that didn't produce a place at all. The horse last raced just a day ago, so clearly the team are keeping it busy, but the elusive follow-up win remains ten months away and counting.

Fergal O'Brien trains the horse from his yard in Withington, Gloucestershire, and he is a trainer who clearly knows what he is doing — 90 winners in the current season alone is a serious number from any yard in Britain. O'Brien has spoken candidly about this horse in the past, noting that it needs a genuinely strong pace and a test of stamina rather than a sharp, sprint-finish contest. He described it as unusually green, meaning it was slow to understand what racing actually requires of it. That kind of mental immaturity can hold a horse back for a long time.

Jack Andrews has been the regular partner in the saddle, riding Just A Memory in 6 races and winning once — that's 1 from 6, or 17%, which is actually a decent return given the horse's overall record. The pair seem to suit each other well enough, even if results have been hard to come by. Most of the races this horse runs in are at Class 5, the entry level of British racing, and even there the win rate is just 1 from 8. That is a horse that belongs at the lower end of the sport and knows it. Newton Abbot remains the one place where everything clicked, and if the team are looking for another day like that, heading back there in the right conditions might be where to start.