Servare

What makes the picture more interesting is who is behind this horse. Andrew Slattery trains and rides Servare himself — an unusual double responsibility — and is based at Thurles in County Tipperary. The yard has sent out 62 winners this season, which tells you this is not a small operation stumbling along. When a trainer of that output keeps faith with a horse through nine races, it usually means they see something worth persisting with. Together, Slattery and Servare have won 1 from 7 rides — about 1 in 7 — which is modest, but the Navan win came within that partnership, so the combination has at least delivered once when it counted.

The recent run of form — finishing 15th, 6th, 5th, 1st, 8th, and 4th across the last six races — is a bit of a mixed bag, and the two most recent efforts, a sixth and a fifteenth, suggest Servare is not building on that Navan breakthrough just yet. Still, the horse raced just one day ago, so remains very much in active training and in the thick of its season. At three years old, there is time for the form to click — and with a busy, winning yard providing the support, Servare is in decent hands while waiting for that next moment.