Long Goodbye

The recent form tells the story neatly: a fourth, then two consecutive second-place finishes. That's a horse moving in the right direction, getting competitive and staying there. Two seconds in a row suggests Long Goodbye is finding its level and knocking on the door — the question is simply whether the door will open.

The horse is trained by Liz Doyle, based at Crossabeg in County Wexford. The yard has been in decent enough nick this season, sending out four winners, and Long Goodbye — currently active and in training — could yet add to that tally. With a horse who has placed in two of its three races, the trainer will know exactly what he has on his hands: a horse capable of competing, just waiting for the pieces to fall the right way on the right day.