Gordon Elliott, one of Ireland's most powerful trainers, has been patient with Reckless. Elliott's yard at Longwood in County Meath has sent out 209 winners already this season — this is an operation that knows what it is doing — and Elliott himself has spoken openly about why the horse has underperformed so far. Put simply, Reckless was too weak when it mattered. Running in point-to-point style introductory races last season, the horse just did not have the physical strength to compete properly, and the form suffered as a result.
The encouraging news is that Elliott believes the horse has come on considerably since then. A short break of 54 days has given Reckless time to fill out and mature, and the trainer is expecting a noticeably better showing when the horse returns to the track soon. Recent form of 4-2-5-4 is nothing to write home about, but a second-place finish in there shows the ability to get competitive — it just has not translated into a win yet.
The honest truth is that Reckless is an unknown quantity until that physical development actually shows up in a race. Zero wins from five races is a tough record to get excited about. But when the trainer of a 209-winner season tells you a horse is a different animal from the one you saw before, it is probably worth paying attention.
| Course | Races | Results | Last run | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gowran Park Undulating |
2 | 2 other | 7 Mar | 0% |
| Fairyhouse Galloping |
2 | 1 second, 1 other | 1 Jan | 0% |
| Punchestown Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 29 Apr | 0% |