Pay Attention

The real puzzle is what has happened since that Nottingham breakthrough. It was fifteen months ago, and Pay Attention hasn't won since. Its last six races tell a story of struggle: a ninth, two sixths, a fifth, a seventh, and a blank. Most recently, it ran just a day ago and failed to place. For a horse that already wins just once every twenty attempts, that kind of form is dispiriting. Yet there is one small silver lining. When Pay Attention has run over 1 mile 1 furlong to 1 mile 2 furlongs — roughly the sweet spot of its race distance — it has managed a win from eight races (12%), which is double its overall rate. That suggests the horse has a distance where it performs fractionally better, even if the margins remain slim.

Trained by Sara V Bradstock at Wantage in Oxfordshire, Pay Attention competes mostly in Class 5 races, the lower levels of jump and flat racing. There, its record is sobering: nought wins from seven races. For a horse with just one career victory under its belt and none for so long, the wins are drying up rather than flowing. Pay Attention is still active and still racing — it was out just a day ago — so there is time yet for another victory. Whether it will come is another matter entirely.