Spitalfield

At eight years old, Spitalfield is no youngster, and its recent run of form makes for sobering reading. In its last six races the best it has managed is a third-place finish, with a couple of disappointing eighth-place efforts mixed in. It raced just yesterday, which at least confirms the yard still believes there is something worth running for. That yard is the father-and-son operation of Jonjo and A.J. O'Neill, based near Cheltenham, who have sent out 51 winners already this season — so they clearly know how to get horses winning. Spitalfield, to be fair, has not been one of them.

The horse's regular partner in the saddle is Jonjo O'Neill Jr, the trainer's son, who has ridden Spitalfield in 13 of its 26 races. Together they have won once from those 13 outings — roughly 1 in every 13 rides. That single win came at Ffos Las, a track on the south Wales coast, and it remains the one and only time Spitalfield has reached the winner's enclosure anywhere. Almost all of its racing has been at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the British racing pyramid — not the glamour end, but competitive enough that winning is never a formality. One win from 17 races at that level, a rate of around 1 in 17, suggests the horse is finding even this standard a tough ask.

What keeps Spitalfield interesting is the sheer stubbornness of its presence. It keeps running, keeps finishing in the frame often enough to justify another entry, and was out competing as recently as yesterday. For a horse with one career win to its name, that consistency of effort is, in its own quiet way, something to admire.