Koori Star

Trained by Peter Fahey out of Monasterevin in Co. Kildare, Koori Star is part of a yard that has hit form this season, sending out 12 winners. That context matters: Fahey clearly knows how to place a horse to win, which suggests Koori Star's dry spell isn't for want of trying. The team keeps running it, and the horse keeps showing up — it raced just eight days ago — so there's clearly something they still believe in.

Jake Coen has been the regular partner, riding Koori Star in 7 of its races and taking that one win together. That's a win rate of 14%, or 1 win from every 7 rides — which, funnily enough, is actually better than the horse's overall career average. Their Sligo win together is the high point of this partnership so far, and with recent form reading 6-8-5-4 and a second place mixed in, there are signs of competitiveness even if the winner's enclosure remains elusive.

That placed effort — a second — is perhaps the most encouraging number in the recent record. It means Koori Star isn't simply making up the numbers; it's getting into races, just not quite finishing them off. At this level, the difference between second and first can come down to a single moment of acceleration, and for a horse that has shown it can find the front once before, the possibility of a repeat isn't far-fetched. Fahey's yard is in good heart this season, and sometimes that confidence travels down the yard to a horse like this — still active, still competitive, still waiting for its moment.