Maxwell Smart

Trained by T G McCourt out of Stamullen in County Meath — a yard that has sent out 13 winners already this season — Maxwell Smart does its best work over longer distances, between a mile and six furlongs and two miles. In those trips the horse has won 1 from 20, a 5% win rate, which is modest but at least confirms that the one win it does have came in the conditions that suit it best. Down Royal, the scene of that September success, clearly holds good memories.

The most regular partnership in the saddle has been with jockey James Ryan, who has ridden Maxwell Smart in nine of its races and was aboard for that sole victory. Together they win roughly one in every nine races — 11% — which is actually a noticeably better return than the horse's overall record suggests. That hints at a degree of mutual understanding worth paying attention to.

Recent form gives a slightly mixed picture. The last six runs have produced a third place as the best result, with finishes of 9th, 8th, 3rd, 5th, and 6th also on the card, and the horse has not won in any of those outings. That third place is at least a sign of life, and with Maxwell Smart having raced as recently as yesterday, the campaign is very much ongoing. The question now is whether a horse that found the winner's circle once — and did it over the right trip, at a track it clearly handles — can find its way back there. Ten months is a long time to wait, but the horse is still turning up, still placing, and still running. That counts for something.