Project Kinsman

The form figures tell an interesting story if you look closely. After three consecutive finishes well down the field — ninth, eighth, and eighth — Project Kinsman suddenly found itself finishing second and then third in back-to-back races. That is not nothing. Horses that string together placings after a poor run are often finding their rhythm, learning what racing is about, or simply meeting a race that suits them better. The most recent run, an eighth-place finish just one day ago, is a slight step back, but at three years old there is still time and room for development.

Philip Kirby's yard gives the horse every reason for optimism. With 36 winners sent out this season already, Kirby is operating in good form — that kind of output from a trainer means horses are fit, confident, and being placed in races they can be competitive in. A yard firing at that rate tends to find winners, and when they do find the right race for Project Kinsman, the groundwork may already be in place.

For now, this remains a horse without a win to its name, and patience is required from everyone involved. But at three years old, with a trainer in form and a pair of placed finishes buried in the recent record, Project Kinsman is not a story that has finished being written yet.