Runamara

The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading for anyone who has been following along. The last six results, reading from most recent backwards, read 5-8-12-7-2-5 — a sequence that includes a promising second place but also a twelfth, which suggests a horse that blows hot and cold. Whatever Runamara found at Bath that September afternoon, it has not quite managed to repeat it since.

Where the picture brightens slightly is at Class 5 level, the bread-and-butter tier of British racing where most horses at this stage of their careers spend their time. Runamara has won 1 of 4 races at that level — one win from four is a 25% hit rate, which is genuinely solid and suggests the horse is competitive when conditions and company are right. The trick for the yard is finding the right race at the right moment to bring that out again.

Runamara is trained by John and Rhys Flint, a father-and-son team based in Kenfig Hill in Bridgend, a small yard that has quietly sent out 8 winners this season. That is a respectable tally for an operation of their size, and it speaks to a team that knows how to place horses well and get the best from what they have. With Runamara having raced as recently as yesterday, the yard is clearly keeping this horse active and looking for opportunities. Whether another Bath-style moment is around the corner is the question worth watching.