Miss Lia

Her recent form makes for difficult reading. In her last six outings, she has managed one second-place finish and the occasional in-the-money effort, but nothing better. Most recently, she came tenth, which speaks to a horse that is finding the racecourse a challenging place right now. Tiernan Power Roche, her usual jockey, has ridden her in ten races and won on her just once — a 10% win rate together, though that one victory was the meaningful Tramore success.

What Miss Lia represents is the everyday reality of racing: a horse with heart and the yard backing her repeatedly, trained by P J Rothwell's yard in Tinahely, which has clearly sent out enough winners this season to show it knows what it is doing. Yet Miss Lia simply has not found another winning opportunity despite frequent opportunities. She is the kind of horse that keeps trying, keeps entering the winner's circle through placings now and then, but the wins — the real reward — remain elusive. She is still racing, still being given chances, which suggests belief remains.