Shes Got The Blues

The key to understanding her seems to be the distance. At seven furlongs to a mile, she has won 2 of just 4 races — that is a 50% win rate, which is a remarkable number at any level of the sport. Outside that range, she has struggled. It is the kind of pattern that tells you a trainer has worked out exactly where a horse belongs, and Tony Carroll's yard has clearly found the sweet spot. Carroll, based in Cropthorne in Worcestershire, has been in red-hot form this season — 136 winners sent out already — so he knows how to place a horse to best effect, and the timing of these two wins does not look like an accident.

Her overall record — 2 wins and 5 places from 17 races, winning roughly 1 in every 8 — is modest on paper. But that headline figure hides what has been happening lately. Her last six results read 3-1-1-4-5-3, meaning two wins and two thirds in six outings. She raced just yesterday, so she is right in the thick of an active campaign. Whether Carroll pushes her up in class to test her at a higher level, or keeps her at the distance and trip she loves, is the interesting question. For now, a horse who could not buy a win a few weeks ago has suddenly found her groove — and in racing, that momentum is a very real thing.