Star Of Beauty

The recent form makes for interesting reading. After a rough patch that included a 12th-place finish, Star Of Beauty has bounced back sharply, posting three consecutive placed efforts — two seconds and a third in the last three runs alone. That kind of turnaround suggests the yard has found something that works, whether that is a tweak in training, a more suitable race, or simply the horse maturing into itself. At 3 years old, there is every reason to think improvement is still on the table.

The horse raced just yesterday, which means it is bang in form and being kept busy — trainers do not run horses that frequently unless they believe something is around the corner. K J Condon, who operates out of Rathbride in Co Kildare, has sent out 4 winners already this season, so the yard is in decent health. The question now is whether Star Of Beauty can convert all that placing into an actual win. Four podium finishes from 8 races without ever winning is a curious kind of consistency — good enough to keep racing, good enough to keep finishing close, but not yet good enough to cross the line first.

For a general racing fan, this is the sort of horse you watch with mild frustration and quiet admiration in equal measure. It is doing nearly everything right. One day soon, the stars may align — a slightly weaker field, the right conditions, a clean run through — and Star Of Beauty will finally get its nose in front.