Nitty Gritty

What makes the picture a little puzzling is that Nitty Gritty's best moments haven't come at the level where it races most often. In four attempts at Class 4 level — solid, mid-tier racing — the horse hasn't won once. The Killarney success came elsewhere, which suggests there may be specific conditions or tracks where this horse is more comfortable, even if those moments have been rare and hard to predict.

The partnership with jockey J J Slevin is the one bright spot worth highlighting. In five races together, Slevin has steered Nitty Gritty to that one career win, giving them a win rate of 1 in 5 — which is actually a decent ratio when you compare it to the horse's overall record. Whether that reflects genuine chemistry or coincidence is hard to say, but it's the most productive combination Nitty Gritty has found so far.

Mark Walford's yard in Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire, is having a productive season with 35 winners on the board, so the operation clearly knows how to get horses winning. Nitty Gritty, racing as recently as yesterday, remains very much part of the team's plans — but with recent form showing a string of mid-field and tail-end finishes, a return to winning ways would be a genuine surprise at this point.