Rushford

Those two wins did come, though, and they arrived in fairly quick succession. The first was at Windsor in late May 2022, followed by a second at Sandown Park just two months later in July of the same year. That Sandown win was 48 months ago now — almost exactly four years — and nothing has come since. Six races without a win is one thing, but when you zoom out and see that the winless run stretches back four years, it paints a picture of a horse that found its level briefly and has struggled to reach it again. The recent form makes for uncomfortable reading: finishes of 13th, 9th, 15th, 9th, and 14th across the last five completed races suggest a horse running consistently in the pack rather than threatening the places.

Where Rushford does look most competitive, at least on paper, is over a mile and three furlongs to a mile and four furlongs — a proper middle-distance trip that asks for a bit of stamina. At that range, it has won 1 from 5 races, a 20% win rate, which is meaningfully better than its overall record. The same 20% figure appears at Class 5 level, which is where most of these races take place — the bread-and-butter end of the sport rather than the glamour end.

The best partnership in Rushford's career has been with jockey Luke Morris, who has ridden the horse to both of its wins from 7 races together — a record of 2 from 7, or roughly 1 in every 3 to 4 rides. That is a notably strong hit rate by comparison and suggests Morris has a knack for getting the best from this horse when they do link up. The yard is trained by Thomas R Hughes over in Bagenalstown, County Carlow, and has sent out just one winner so far this season. Rushford raced just one day ago, so it is clearly still in work and being kept busy — the question is whether another winning day is still in the locker.