Saint Peregrine

The recent form makes for difficult reading. Looking at the last six runs, Saint Peregrine has finished 9th, 13th, 13th, missed one race entirely, then 7th, and most recently 3rd — which at least shows a flicker of something. The fact that it raced just yesterday tells you this is an active, busy horse, kept in regular work by its Tipperary yard.

That yard belongs to John Patrick Ryan, based in Templemore, Co Tipperary, and it is clearly a yard in good health — 21 winners sent out this season is a solid return that speaks to a team who know how to get horses ready to perform. The regular partnership with jockey Liam McKenna has produced five races together without a win, though it is worth noting that Saint Peregrine has not won with anyone in the saddle across its entire career, so that scoreline says more about the horse than it does about McKenna.

The honest truth about Saint Peregrine is that, at seven years old with 16 races behind it and no wins on the board, a breakthrough would now come as a genuine surprise. Some horses find their level and just keep competing without ever reaching the top step, and Saint Peregrine may well be one of them. Still, it raced yesterday, it has finished third recently, and the team keep running it — which suggests they see something worth persisting with. Whether that faith is eventually rewarded remains the only interesting question left to answer.