Reve Inoui

The recent form makes for tough reading. Over the last six runs, the best finishes on record are a pair of fifth places, with two blank results in between. There is no obvious upward curve here, no sign of a horse rediscovering form or finding its level. Reve Inoui raced just yesterday, which at least confirms the yard is keeping faith and looking for opportunities, but at this stage of a career with no wins from ten attempts, the margins for improvement are narrowing.

The trainer is J P Flavin, based at Tramore in County Waterford. It is a yard that has sent out 10 winners this season, which shows Flavin knows how to get horses winning — making Reve Inoui something of an outlier in the stable. With a more capable horse on their hands, Flavin's team would likely have found a winning opportunity by now. The fact they haven't suggests this particular horse simply finds ways to finish outside the frame, even when given every chance.

At eight years old, time is not on Reve Inoui's side. Horses do not tend to improve dramatically at this stage of their careers. For now, this is a horse that takes up space in a race without troubling the winner — and with ten chances already gone, it would take something quite unexpected for that to change.