Pleasureofpressure

The recent form makes for honest reading. In the last six races the best result was a second place, followed by a string of thirds and fourths. That runner-up finish is the closest Pleasureofpressure has come, and it suggests the ability is there in some measure — this is not a horse being beaten out of sight every week. But there is a significant gap between finishing second and actually winning, and at 6 years old, with 15 races on the clock and nothing in the win column, the window for a breakthrough is not getting any wider.

What works in the horse's favour is the yard behind it. P J Rothwell, operating out of Tinahely in Co Wicklow, has sent out 35 winners already this season — that is a yard in form, with horses clearly fit and ready to run. When a trainer is firing in winners at that kind of rate, it means the horses in their care are well-prepared, and Pleasureofpressure is at least in good hands. The team will know better than anyone what this horse needs and whether there is a winnable race somewhere on the horizon. The fact that the horse raced just one day ago also shows it is active and being campaigned with purpose rather than being put away.

Whether Pleasureofpressure can finally break that duck is the only real question left to answer. The pieces — a capable yard, recent racecourse experience, and some evidence of competitive runs — are not entirely discouraging. But 15 races without a win is a long wait, and patience, for horse and team alike, must be running thin.