Nitty Gritty

That Killarney win is the defining chapter of the story so far. Killarney is a sharp, turning track on the southwest coast of Ireland with a real character of its own, and for some horses it simply clicks in a way other tracks don't. Whether that turns out to be Nitty Gritty's happy hunting ground or just a one-off remains to be seen, but it is the only time this horse has found the winning formula in 14 attempts, so it matters.

The recent run of form gives the trainer Mark Walford some cause for thought. Six races without a win, including a second place that shows the ability is still there but the wins are proving elusive. Walford, based at Sheriff Hutton in North Yorkshire, has had a productive season with 35 winners sent out, so the yard clearly knows how to get horses winning — the challenge now is finding the right opportunity to get Nitty Gritty back to the form that produced that Killarney success. The horse raced just one day ago, so it is firmly in the thick of its season.

The most regular partnership has been with jockey J J Slevin, who has ridden Nitty Gritty in five of its races and has one win to show from those — a rate of 1 in 5, or 20%, which is actually a solid return when you consider the horse's overall figures. That one win together is, of course, the Killarney victory, which gives the combination something real to build on. At the level where Nitty Gritty typically competes, it is yet to score from four attempts, suggesting the horse may be more comfortable when dropped slightly in the weights and conditions. A horse that has taken 14 races to get off the mark but has now done it once often finds the second win comes a little more easily — the question is where and when.