Ranting And Raven

The recent run of form makes for interesting reading. Back in its last six races, the sequence reads 3-3-4-8-10-6 working backwards through time, which means the horse was finishing in the top four fairly consistently before things began to unravel a little. Those back-to-back thirds suggest a horse that was finding its feet and showing genuine promise — then the wheels came off somewhat, with an eighth, a tenth, and a sixth to close things out. It is not a disaster, but it is not a horse building momentum either.

What makes this appearance more intriguing is the gap since its last run — roughly five months. That is a meaningful absence for a three-year-old, long enough to raise questions about what has been happening behind the scenes, though also long enough for a yard to iron out issues and send a horse back out refreshed. Gavin Cromwell's operation at Navan in Co. Meath is not a small outfit quietly ticking over — 94 winners this season is a serious number, the mark of a busy, professional yard that knows how to place its horses. When a trainer of that output holds a horse for five months and then runs it, there is usually a reason to pay attention.

Whether Ranting And Raven can finally break its duck remains to be seen. The talent has flickered — those placed efforts are not nothing — but twelve races is a reasonable sample size, and the win column is still empty. A first victory would be overdue and, frankly, well deserved.