She's A Gift

Her recent form makes for interesting reading. In her last six races, she has finished 2nd, 7th, 2nd, 14th, 7th, and 5th — reading from most recent backwards. That pair of second-place finishes sandwiching a rough patch suggests she is not short of ability on her day. The 14th-place run looks like an off day, the kind every athlete has, and she bounced back from it with a placed effort next time out. She raced just yesterday, so she is very much in the thick of her season right now.

She is trained by John C McConnell, who operates out of Stamullen in County Meath, and his yard has been in fine form this season with 36 winners on the board. That is a yard firing on all cylinders, which means She's A Gift is getting every chance to succeed. The puzzle is why a horse in such capable hands, clearly able to finish second, has not yet managed to win. The gap between second and first is small in theory and enormous in practice — and closing it is the story that keeps her followers watching.