Riggs

What is interesting about Riggs is the partnership between the horse and Liam McKenna, his most frequent rider. Together they have won 2 of 7 races—a 29% win rate that is dramatically higher than Riggs's overall record. That 29% suggests McKenna understands how to get the best from him, and it is why he remains the jockey of choice. The trainer, P Cluskey, runs a small yard from Balbriggan in County Dublin, and Riggs has been his most reliable asset over the years, though even winning just twice tells you the yard operates modestly. Riggs clearly prefers normal ground, winning 2 of 15 races (13%) on standard conditions, compared to nothing in the small sample he has run on faster or wetter surfaces.

At 11 years old, Riggs is in the twilight of his racing career, and the gaps between his wins are now measured in months rather than weeks. He remains active—he raced just a day ago—but for a horse competing at modest levels and struggling to find the winners' circle, the question is not whether he can strike again, but whether he has the appetite left to do it. He is a horse that has done his job reliably enough in modest company, neither remarkable nor disgraced, the kind of solid campaigner that keeps small training yards ticking over season after season.