Shantou Show

Those two career wins arrived in quick succession in spring 2023 — first at Downpatrick in April, then at Tipperary five weeks later — and since then, Shantou Show has gone 38 months without returning to the winner's enclosure. The last six races tell a story of a horse that is still showing up and finishing in the mix on occasion, with a third-place finish among recent efforts, but the wins have dried up entirely. At this stage of a career, recapturing that winning thread becomes harder with each passing season.

Jockey Conor Stone-Walsh has partnered Shantou Show six times without managing to get it back in front, and that 0 from 6 record together is the kind of statistic that raises questions — though whether the issue lies with horse, rider, or simply the quality of opposition is difficult to say. Trainer Noel C Kelly, based in Draperstown in County Derry, has had a productive season with 14 winners from the yard, so the operation is clearly functioning well. Shantou Show, though, appears to be a horse whose best days are behind it. It raced just yesterday, which speaks to its durability at ten, but durability and competitiveness are not always the same thing. For now, it is a horse chasing a winning feeling it last experienced when the spring of 2023 was still fresh.