Slim Marvel

That Kilbeggan win, now 21 months ago, remains the sole highlight of the career scorecard. Since then, Slim Marvel has gone six races without winning, and the recent form figures — seventh, pulled up twice, fifth, seventh, fifth — make for fairly grim reading. The two pulled-up runs in particular suggest there have been days where things haven't just gone badly, they've gone very badly. A horse that finishes fifth or seventh is trying; a horse that doesn't finish is having a tough time of it entirely.

Philip Donovan is the jockey most associated with Slim Marvel, riding together in nine of those 28 races and finding the winner's enclosure once — that's 1 win from 9 rides together, or about 1 in every 9 times out. That's a better ratio than the overall career record, which perhaps says something about the partnership, even if the wins haven't exactly been flowing lately.

The trainer is Rebecca Curtis, who operates out of Newport in Pembrokeshire and has had a productive season — 18 winners sent out this term, which is a solid return for any yard. Curtis has a reputation for patience with her horses, and the fact that Slim Marvel, now eight years old, is still racing — the horse ran just one day ago — suggests the team hasn't given up on finding another good day. Whether that day comes around again is the question. For now, Slim Marvel is a horse whose most interesting chapter may already be written, but who is still very much in the story.